The Need for the Establishment of Biomedical Engineering (BME) as an Academic and Professional Discipline in the Philippines — A Quantitative Argument

Abstract

This article quantitatively presents the relationship that exists between research endeavors in BME, which was measured in terms of the volume of publications produced in the field of BME from 1990 to 2019 in the 10 member states of the ASEAN, and 12 indicators of the overall and physical health of populations (†) — GDP per capita, HDI value, HAQ index, life expectancy at birth, healthy life expectancy at birth, maternal mortality ratio, neonatal mortality rate, probability of dying from noncommunicable diseases, and incidences of death due to stroke, diabetes mellitus, congenital birth defects, and leukemia. The objective was to show that ASEAN states that recognize BME as an academic and professional discipline have been successful in producing research in the field, and thus, have advanced the provision of high-quality healthcare for their people. The Pearson correlation coefficients (PCCs) between BME publication volume and the 12 healthcare indicators were calculated and were reported in the order previously listed (see †) to be +0.7555, +0.7398, +0.7297, +0.7563, +0.7879, -0.6286, -0.6810, -0.7245, -0.6683, -0.6893, -0.7645, and -0.6827. The PCCs between BME publication volume and the natural logarithm of the same indicators in the same order were calculated and were reported to be +0.7338, +0.7051, +0.7184, +0.7452, +0.7754, -0.7985, -0.7286, -0.7905, -0.7872, -0.9208, -0.9149, and -0.7038. It was also discovered that data from Brunei Darussalam behaved anomalously, as they did not conform with the observed trends. Hence, it was decided that data from Brunei would be removed to check for any improvements in PCC. Indeed, PCCs for all indicators improved. PCCs between BME publication volume and the 12 indicators excluding data from Brunei were reported in the same order as follows: +0.9279, +0.9072, +0.8659, +0.8598, +0.8800, -0.7313, -0.7783, -0.7919, -0.7726, -0.7073, -0.8133, and -0.6907. PCCs between BME publication volume and the natural logarithms of the 12 indicators excluding data from Brunei were reported in the same order as follows: +0.9042, +0.8707, +0.9599, +0.8519, +0.8726, -0.8822, -0.9318, -0.8430, 0.8510, -0.9234, -0.9390, and -0.7069, respectively. These PCCs, many of them with magnitudes above 0.9000, signify especially strong relationships between BME research yield and healthcare quality in a country.Moreover, to best visualize the relationships quantified above, BME publication volume was plotted against GDP per capita, while the remaining 11 indicators were each plotted against BME publication volume. Linear (Lin), logarithmic (Log), and exponential (Exp) regression curves were then overlaid on the datapoints. Coefficients of determination (R2) were calculated to measure the aptness of the fits. R2 values were reported in the same order as above to be: 0.5161 (Log), 0.5708 (Lin), 0.5473 (Lin), 0.5720 (Lin), 0.6207 (Lin), 0.7457 (Log), 0.7517 (Exp), 0.6249 (Exp), 0.6197 (Exp), 0.8469 (Exp), 0.8095 (Log), and 0.4660 (Lin) [incl. Brunei]; 0.9214 (Log), 0.8612 (Lin), 0.8230 (Lin), 0.7393 (Lin), 0.7745 (Lin), 0.9433 (Log), 0.8682 (Exp), 0.7106 (Exp), 0.7242 (Exp), 0.8527 (Exp), 0.8960 (Log), and 0.4771 (Lin) [excl. Brunei].For this reason, we believe that it is certainly time for the Philippines to adopt BME as an academic and professional discipline in its own right, so that it may one day enjoy the benefits brought about by advancements in the provision of healthcare that are experienced by its ASEAN neighbors that have already gone ahead with movements to cultivate the highly essential discipline.