Golden accomplishments in biomedical engineering

The 50th anniversary of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) is an appropriate time to look back at the origins and growth of both the field of biomedical engineering and the EMBS. The present account gives most attention to the aspects of biomedical engineering to which IEEE members (and, earlier, American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) members and Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) members) contributed, which is to say that this account emphasizes the electrical, electronic, and computing aspects of biomedical engineering. Topics covered include: history of the technologies; the roots of biomedical engineering; prehistory and history of the profession; biomedical applications of the computer; health care; ultrasound technology; new means of medical imaging; endoscopy, lasers, and fear of electromagnetic fields; study of human metabolism; the Human Genome Project, robotics, and internationalization; and forecasting progress in biomedical engineering.