Survey of U.S. Biomechanics Instruction

This paper presents the results of a web survey sent to all known U.S. engineering instructors who are currently or have recently taught a biomechanics course. Survey questions addressed: Course (student) demographics, instructor experience, course structure, resource material (including textbooks), satisfaction with course material, and topics covered within the biomechanics course. Results indicate that there is tremendous diversity in terms of primary course material used to teach engineering biomechanics, with over 23% of respondents not using any formal textbook at all (i.e., using custom course material) and 83% of the respondents augmenting their primary textbook with additional material. Topics from Bone Mechanics, Soft Tissue Mechanics, Tissue Remodeling, and Orthopaedic Biomechanics were most highly represented among current biomechanics courses. Biofluid Mechanics, Vascular Mechanics, Respiratory Mechanics, Medical Imaging & Mechanics, Injury Biomechanics, and Biomedical Engineering Ethics were least represented. There was a significant statistical correlation between the current research topics of the respondents and the included topics in their engineering biomechanics courses. In an open-response query in the survey, respondents identified three additional resources that would be most helpful in teaching their current biomechanics course: 1) a “better,” more unified textbook, 2) “meaningful” and descriptive laboratory experiments that can be accomplished using routine equipment, and 3) sample and homework problems. This study represents preliminary work identifying the "state of the practice" in terms of engineering biomechanics education. We anticipate that the results will provide discussion points among biomechanics educators and hopefully lead to collaborative efforts to develop a more unified curriculum