Degree

The Translational Health Technology master’s degree track comprises 27 credit hours of classwork (8 courses) and a final project.

Alignment

None

Students can choose to complete the program in one year by studying full-time, or two years by studying part-time. The final project within the program can be done within one’s place of employment, if applicable.
 

Academic Calendar

This track is offered over three semesters: the fall, spring and summer. See the university’s academic calendar.
 

Translational Health Technology Degree

Download a summary of the degree requirements.

Full-time Schedule*

*Part-time students take a maximum of two courses per semester.

Course Requirements (27 Credits):

EBME: Orientation and Clinical Needs     (2 credits)     FALL
This course is designed to introduce the student to translational health technology.
Part 1: Three-day orientation program: Day 1: Project Presentations from the previous year students, Day 2 and 3: Mentors in the program will introduce each area to be covered.
Part 2: Two-week Intense Self-directed Immersion learning course. The students will attend seminars in several clinical areas as well as shadowing clinicians. The goal is to get familiar with the clinical needs in the medical industry.
 
IIME450: Engineering Entrepreneurship     (3 credits)     FALL
The nature and importance of entrepreneurship is an area of importance to business leaders, educators, politicians, and individual members of society. It is a driver of economic development and wealth creation in organization units ranging in size from the individual company to entire nations. Technology-based entrepreneurship is particularly important to this economic development due to its impact on productivity and its potential for exponential growth. To create something new and of value to both the organization and the market requires a technical individual who is willing to assume the social, psychic and financial risks involved and achieve the resulting rewards whether these be monetary, personal satisfaction or independence. This can occur while starting an enterprise (i.e., entrepreneurship) or while driving innovation in an existing organization (intrapreneurship). This course will also take students through a variety of issues related to enhancing innovation in the context of a technology-based organization. This is sometimes termed intrapreneurship and includes innovating new products and services within an organization. This is a very complex field and relatively young. Students will learn that there are not many "absolute truths," but there are numerous best practices and benchmarks that can assist the intrapreneur. Recommended preparation: Accredited Bachelor's in Engineering plus summer job experience.                     
 
EPBI 446 Experimental Design for Biosciences     (3 Credits)     SPRING
This course deals with basic problems of the design and analysis of experiments with emphasis on experiments conducted in the biomedical sciences. Topics will include completely randomized and balanced incomplete block designs. Latin and Greco-Latin squares, factorial experiments and response surface and mixture designs. In addition to analysis and interpretation of results from experiments, optimization of design parameters, using second-order models will be covered. The course is intended for graduate students and investigators who are engaged in biomedical research.
 
ETHC 4001 Clinical Ethics     (3 credits)     SPRING
This elective will provide a direct experience with clinical ethics. Students will be assigned a primary mentor with whom they will meet weekly. They will also spend time in clinical settings such as a medical intensive care unit, a burn unit, a chronic care facility, a hospice and other locations to be chosen by students. Students will keep a journal of ethical issues and problems that they will discuss with their mentors. During their month rotation, students will be expected to do appropriate reading. Clinical experiences will be at MetroHealth Medical Center. 
OBJECTIVE: To provide a concentrated experience with clinical ethics. 
DUTIES: Participation in ethics committee meetings, clinical rounds, and observation in various clinical settings. Keeping a log of ethical issues encountered. Appropriate readings will be selected by mentor based on area of interest. Weekly meeting with faculty members. 
PREREQUISITE: No prerequisites courses. However, students must meet with the sponsor two weeks before elective begins in order to plan and design their unique clinical experience. It is the student's responsibility to set up this meeting; without it, the clerkship cannot begin.           
                                               
EBME (IIME473): Clinical Information systems     (3 credits)     FALL
Technology has played a significant role in the evolution of medical science and treatment. While we often think about progress in terms of the practical application of, say, imaging to the diagnosis and monitoring of disease, technology is increasingly expected to improve the organization and delivery of healthcare services, too. Information technology plays a key role in the transformation of administrative support systems (finance and administration), clinical information systems (information to support patient care), and decision support systems (managerial decision-making). This introductory graduate course provides the student with the opportunity to gain insight and situational experience with clinical information systems (CIS). Often considered synonymous with electronic medical records, the “art” of CIS more fundamentally examines the effective use of data and information technology to assist in the migration away from paper-based systems and improve organizational performance. In this course we examine clinical information systems in the context of (A) operational and strategic information needs, (B) information technology and analytic tools for workflow design, and (C) subsequent implementation of clinical information systems in patient care. Legal and ethical issues are explored. The student learns the process of “plan, design, implement” through hands-on applications to select CIS problems, while at the same time gaining insights and understanding of the impacts placed on patients and health care providers.

EBME (IIME446): Models of Health Care system     (3 credits)     SPRING 
This course is for professionals who will pursue their careers in, or associated with, the health care industry; and therefore, need to understand the structure, operations and decision influences in the health care delivery system. The course is intended to develop competence and confidence in the participant's ability to understand and operate in the industry. the largest and, perhaps, the most complex in the United States. It is applicable to the private and public, profit and not-for-profit sectors. In this course students are introduced to: the different systems of care delivery; their organization and operations; their markets and the nature of the demand for their services; and the dynamics of their interoperation among themselves and with other entities in the industry (e.g., payors/insurers, regulators and accreditors, technology and pharmaceuticals suppliers). 
Offered as HSMC 446 and IIME 446.
 
EBME (IIME 472): BIODESIGN     (4 credits)     SPRING          
Medical device innovations that would have been considered science fiction a decade ago are already producing new standards of patient care. Innovation leading to lower cost of care, minimally invasive procedures and shorter recovery times is equally important to healthcare business leaders, educators, clinicians, and policy-makers. Innovation is a driver of regional economic development and wealth creation in organizational units ranging in size from the start-up to the Fortune 500 companies. In a broader context, the pace of translational research leading to product and service innovation is highly interdisciplinary, thus, new products and services result from team efforts, marked by a systematic, structured approach to bringing new medical technologies to market and impacting patient care. In this course we examine medical technology innovations in the context of (A) addressing unmet clinical needs, (B) the process of inventing new medical devices and instruments, and (C) subsequent implementation of these advances in patient care. In short, the student learns the process of "identify, invent, implement" in the field of BioDesign.
 
BIOS 447: Bio-Regulatory Affairs     (1.5 credits)     SPRING
This mini-course introduces students to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the laws and regulations it enforces. A scientific regulatory agency with far reaching enforcement authority, FDA is the most powerful consumer protection agency in the world. This course will familiarize students with FDA's mission, philosophy and organizational structure, as well as policy and procedure it uses to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the food, drugs, biologics, cosmetics, medical devices and radiation-emitting products it regulates. Recommended preparation: Enrollment in the MEM Biomedical Entrepreneurship Track. Offered as BIOS 447, HSMC 447, and IIME 447.
 
EBME: Biomedical Engineering Technical Elective     (3 credits)     FALL & SPRING
Any 400-level class from the BME department is acceptable provided that the student meets the prerequisite requirements. A list of courses is available at: https://bme.case.edu/Graduate/Courses
 
EBME 651: Thesis M.S. (1-18 credits)
 

Learn more about the faculty who teach these courses.