No one saw this coming: all the things that biotechnology has accomplished and reached in just a matter of time. And we are just beginning to comprehend and recognize the endless opportunities it’s been creating.
What is biotechnology? Why is it so important? What are the latest technologies related to it, particularly in e-health? And how are engineering schools keeping up with its fast pace growth?
Biotechnology and E-health
Biotechnology is the use of biology to solve problems and make useful innovations to improve the overall well-being spectrum. Its scope has driven a need to classify it based on some common features or their final purpose. Below are some of the main areas of Biotechnology using a color classification:
- Red: also referred to as biopharma. It brings together medicine and veterinary products. Red Biotechnology includes producing vaccines and antibiotics, developing new drugs, molecular diagnostics techniques, regenerative therapies and the development of genetic engineering to cure diseases through genetic manipulation.
- White: related to industrial biotech. It pays special attention to designing low resource-consuming processes and products, making them more energy efficient and less polluting than traditional ones.
- Yellow: has been used to refer to food production. To name a few examples would be in making wine, cheese, and beer by fermentation.
- Grey: refers to environmental applications, and is focused on the maintenance of biodiversity and the removal of pollutants and contaminants.
- Green: fully focused on agriculture. This area of Biotech is based exclusively on genetic modification.
- Blue: based on the exploitation of marine resources to create products and applications of industrial interest.
How Biotech is related to E-health?
They go together hand in hand. E-health is a relatively recent healthcare practice supported by electronic processes and communication technologies. One can say that biotech serves and supports e-health.
Benefits and Impact of E-health and Biotechnology
E-health:
- Time savings.
- A personal digital healthcare environment gives people more insight into their health.
- Lower administrative burden where doctors have less paperwork and can share information securely and easily with colleagues.
Biotechnology:
Biotechnology, with respect to e-health in particular, heals the world by utilizing nature’s own elements and genes to “heal”, leading to a significant reduction in infectious disease and saving millions of lives, and managing life-threatening conditions affecting millions of children and elderly around the world.
- It can improve health
- It creates flexibility within the food chain
- It offers medical advancement opportunities
- It allows us to preserve resources.
How Does it Translate in the Real World?
It’s never too early to start understanding health engineering and e-health, especially after unlocking its potential and understanding its impact on health and overall environment.
ESiLV graduate school of engineering has introduced a new set of 2-year engineering specialisations that are devoted to the construction of skills. Among them the E-health and Biotech major that trains engineers and develops their ability to evolve in the multidisciplinary ecosystem of technology for health.
The major is based on courses combining life sciences, technologies, IT and Big Data & Artificial Intelligence. The engineers in this Major are in the interconnection between the human, the technology and the health professionals. Not only that, but students get to implement their ideas on the get-go to solve current issues related to the industry.
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Interested in biotechnology? Contact us for more information rela ESiLV’s master’s programme and enroll
