BUET’s Biomedical Engineering department gets new lab for advanced research

Zeiss, a leading German company with a global reputation in the optics and optoelectronics sector and the only brand to provide both light electron and X Ray Microscopes in Bangladesh, inaugurated the state-of-the-art Labs@Location at the Biomedical Engineering (BME) department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) on Tuesday.

Md. Anwar Hossain Howlader, secretary (health services division) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, joined the inauguration programme as the chief guest, repots news agency UNB.

Additional secretary of health services Nazmul Haque Khan, director general of health services professor Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam were present among other guests.

“Bio-Medication Engineering (BME) department was established in BUET in 2016. Bangladesh has a large population. Medication is a necessary need of people. It is true that our economic capacity is not enough for our huge population. We do not have the industries to produce enough medical instruments for our country and we have to import the instruments from abroad,” said Anwar Hossain Howlader.

“We always try to buy the best medical equipment but sometimes we could not avail them due to the ill practices of vendors,” he said while talking about importing medical equipment from abroad.

Addressing Zeiss, one of the biggest medical equipment importers to Bangladesh, he said, “Bangladeshi patients have a great fascination toward German-made products. I request Zeiss to extend their facilities for Bangladesh and Bangladeshi people.”

BUET pro-vice chancellor professor Abdul Jabbar khan said, “We are trying to prepare our graduates with knowledge in addition with information so that they can work in industries with efficiency. We are focusing on making practical engineers, not theoretical engineers. And for this we are putting emphasis on soft skills of our students.”

“This is the age of knowledge economies, and the main component of knowledge economy is intellectual capacity. It is a matter of regret that we are far behind in this sector. We need to focus on this part by producing skilled manpower who will contribute for the nation and the world,” he added.

Speaking at the inauguration event at BUET, Vikas Saxena, regional head of SAARC, Zeiss Group said, “We are delighted to inaugurate Zeiss Labs@Location at BUET, which is one of the most prestigious institutes in Bangladesh.

“Zeiss has always remained committed to innovation in the field of science, and the latest Labs@Location is a testimony of our continued focus on providing current and future generations of science enthusiasts cutting-edge technology in the form of advanced microscopes and healthcare equipment. Each machine has been devised very carefully with the hope and belief that it will bring a significant change to how researchers view life and substance.”

Before the inauguration, Tarek Arafat, chairman of the department of Bio-Medication Engineering of BUET, gave a brief lecture about the fields in which they can contribute in the medication sector of Bangladesh, which include dialysis, medical gas systems, waste management, equipment management, fire safety systems, eye health, digital dentistry using 3D printing technology, and rehabilitation assessment through gaits.