The advances in this area are due largely to the pace of technological development and successes in medical research. Medical care is provided through a complex system in which doctors, nurses and numerous other professional caregivers work with and are assisted by machines and technology. Hospitals in particular, are assemblies of mechanical, electrical, and electronic systems and machinery, much of it an extension and adaptation of standard technology, along with equipment developed specifically for medical use. Seemingly ordinary items such as beds and baths, tables and trays, sheets and shoes may be custom-made to meet the special purposes and needs of this system. The motivating force behind these advances is to provide better patient care, to alleviate suffering and to assist caregivers.
Engineering is at the core of the development and adoption of equipment for medical use.
This facility was established in conjunction with the Memorial University's Faculty of Medicine in response to the needs and interests of practising physicians seeking to improve the hardware and techniques that they use in surgery. The medical engineering laboratory was formally opened in January 1995. To date, much of the equipment used in the facility has been borrowed from other departments in the Faculty of Engineering. The mechanical test frame and hydraulic test frame currently used to test the durability of surgical implants has been adapted to this purpose using attachments that were developed in-house. The medical hardware tested in the laboratory includes hip joint replacements, and plates and screws used in orthopedic surgical procedures.