Pediatric Engineering at Drexel University – A Brief Overview
The Pediatric Engineering program was formally launched at Drexel University in May 2003, when Dr. Arye Rosen joined the faculty of the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems and Electrical Engineering as the first Academy Professor to lead the Pediatric Engineering initiative. Dr. Arye Rosen has also assumed responsibility for establishing our alliance with St. Peter's University Hospital and for jointly launching the MedTech Center for Infants and Children at St. Peter's University Hospital on August 19, 2003. In this endeavor, Dr. Rosen is building on the successful track record of research and development in pediatric engineering at Drexel University, taking advantage of our University's strong and continued commitment in this direction, as well as our existing and productive partnerships with regional institutions.
Over the years, many Drexel biomedical engineering faculty and students have worked on research and development projects focused on medical devices and systems aimed at serving infants and children. In these efforts, we have been guided by our desire to introduce technologies that are specifically conceived and designed for pediatric populations, while taking into account their particular needs. Our main contributions have been in the area of diagnostics and physiological monitoring, ranging from cellular engineering methods for pediatric brain injury, algorithms for epileptic seizure prediction and heart rate variability studies, and functional optical brain imaging, to the design of airflow sensors for a variety of neonatal applications.
Historically, our partners in these efforts have been the nearby Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania. In the area of rehabilitation, we have a long-standing collaboration with the A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Delaware, and more recently, with the regional Shriners Hospital for Children. Since Drexel's merger in July 2002 with the MCP–Hahnemann University and its affiliated hospitals, we have formed new research collaborations in pediatric engineering with our colleagues at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children and the Department of Pediatrics at our new College of Medicine. Our recent decision to partner with St. Peter's University Hospital reinforces and enriches the regional network of engineers and pediatricians committed to improve the quality of care for our infants and children.
This initiative is dedicated to the loving memory of Denise Nicoletti, an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Drexel Alumna, who died in a tragic automobile accident on July 22, 2002. The Pediatric Engineering initiative is a major effort that includes the Engineers for Infants project dedicated to biomedical engineering solutions for high-risk infants, in loving memory of Denise and Richard Nicoletti's infant son, Giancarlo Nicoletti, whom we lost to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome on January 5, 1995. The H.H. Sun Professorship held by Dr. Onaral was dedicated to the cause of pediatric biomedical engineering on March 11, 1998.
Press Releases
Pediatric Engineering: A Personal Account
Pediatric Engineering Research
Pediatric Engineering Inaugural Colloquium
2nd Pediatric Engineering Colloquium
- November 14th, 2003 from 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
@ Hill Conference Room, Drexel University
 Dr. Rosen giving the opening address at the Inagural Pediatric Engineering Colloquium on October 17, 2003.
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