February 29, 1996-Vol27n20: Therapeutic Engineering symposium set for March 5

Therapeutic Engineering symposium set for March 5

By ELLEN GOLDBAUM
News Services Staff

THE SCHOOL of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB will honor their 50th and 150th anniversaries, respectively, March 5, with a symposium on "50 Years of Therapeutic Engineering in Western New York: A Celebration."
Free and open to the public, the symposium will take place in the Embassy Room of the Statler Towers, 107 Delaware Ave. The day-long program is sponsored by the Health Care Industries Association, the UB Center for Biomedical Engineering and the UB Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Biosurfaces.
The forum also will highlight the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Department of Therapeutic Engineering at Buffalo General Hospital, where many UB researchers have held joint appointments.
The program will focus on Buffalo's bioengineering legacy, as well as on regional prospects for the health-care industry.
"Some of the most important advances in biomedical engineering have happened right here in Western New York," said Robert E. Baier, director of the UB Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Biosurfaces. Together, the UB Center for Biomedical Engineering, the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Biosurfaces and the Department of Therapeutic Engineering have become "an enclave for the application of engineering principles to medical problems," Baier said.
From one of the area's most famous inventions-the pacemaker-to those just as important but less well-known, Western New York's unique history as a leader in innovations in biomedical engineering will be the theme of the March 5 program.
Advances to be discussed include the heart-lung machine and blood pumps, as well as pioneering work in kidney-dialysis technology. Other biomedical engineering innovations from Western New York to be highlighted include the first pacemaker battery, now manufactured by Wilson Greatbatch Ltd., and a new method of freezing blood that allows it to be stored for longer periods, developed by Praxair.
Speakers will include researchers who first worked on the newest bioengineering technologies, such as Wilson Greatbatch; Roland and Sidney Anthone of the UB medical school; Arthur E. MacNeill, founder of the Department of Therapeutic Engineering at Buffalo General; Robert Mates, director of the Center for Biomedical Engineering, and Baier. For more information, contact Mary Ellen Rashman at 856-8111.