Ethics and Biomedical Engineering: Facing Global Health Emergencies

By: Leandro Pecchia and Alessia Maccaro and Kallirroi Stavrianou

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Synopsis: This book is about the interaction between biomedical engineering and ethics during emergencies, such as low-resource settings and the COVID-19 pandemic. It addresses the issues between the universalism of human rights, ethical principles, and regulatory standards of biomedical devices in the context of emergencies. Ethics and Biomedical Engineering: Facing Global Health Emergencies connects biomedical engineering and ethics with particular regard to emergency context such as in low-income countries and the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines how the COVID-19 crisis exposed gaps in access to healthcare, ignited debates about resource allocation, and highlighted the importance of patient privacy. The book presents case studies conducted in Africa and the role of the biomedical engineer (and more generally the scientist) during a pandemic or other health emergency. The book also addresses the way in which the pandemic has been addressed in low-income contexts. Finally, it also explains the need for an interdisciplinary approach between scientists, ethicists, and policymakers to improve outcomes in the future.The book is intended for undergraduate and graduate students in bioengineering. It would also be useful for policy makers and medical professionals that could be faced with ethical dilemmas in times of crisis.