All Learning Centers Start here: Medical Terminology, rung 1 of 7Seven short rungs on decoding medical words. Built for Human Body Systems, and the skill you use on every autopsy report, lab result, and clinical record in this course.Four-course case studyMeasles: More Than a RashPBS lens: Observation, pattern, and justified claims.
Principles of Biomedical Technology (Principles of Biomedical Science): Learning Centers
93 centers · 5 units
Launch
Apply PPE and Read An SDSRead a safety sheet, name the hazard, and match PPE to the body part at risk.Identify Variables and ControlsSort what changes, what is measured, what stays the same, and what comparison group is used.Construct and Label A GraphBuild a readable graph with a title, labeled axes, units, and a sensible scale.Compute Descriptive Statistics Mean, RangeSummarize a small data set by computing mean and range and explaining what each tells you.
Unit 1
Document A Scene and Log EvidenceRecord a scene with photos, labels, times, and an evidence log before anything is moved.Distinguish Observation From InferenceSeparate what you directly notice from conclusions you draw from those clues.Maintain Chain Of CustodyKeep evidence trustworthy by recording every label, seal, handoff, time, and receiver.Collect Trace Biometric EvidenceCollect small trace evidence and body-based biometric evidence without contaminating it.Design An Evidence TestDesign a fair evidence test with a sample, positive control, negative control, and clear result rule.Identify Biomolecules From Indicator DataUse indicator color changes to identify carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids in evidence samples.Write A Mini CERWrite a short claim-evidence-reasoning paragraph from a small set of data.Identify Tissues Under MicroscopyUse visible microscope features such as fibers, layers, spaces, and cell shape to identify tissue.Interpret Toxicology EvidenceCompare toxicology results to cutoffs and controls before making an evidence claim.Relate Structure to FunctionExplain how a body structure helps an organ, tissue, or cell do its job.Synthesize Multi Source EvidenceCombine independent evidence sources into one careful claim.Evaluate Reliability LimitationsJudge whether evidence is trustworthy enough and name what limits the claim.Write A Forensic ReportWrite a forensic report that separates evidence, conclusion, and limitations.Remove gloves without contaminating yourselfGloves only protect you if they come off correctly. Learn the two rules that keep whatever you touched off your skin, and when to wash.Prevent cross contamination between samplesOne sample at a time, one applicator per sample, and nothing goes back in the stock bottle. Learn why a carried-over trace reads as a real result.Package a specimen for the laboratoryDry it, breathe it, seal it, sign it. Learn why sealed plastic ruins biological evidence and paper does not.Handle preserved specimens in dissectionThree hazards sit on one tray: the holding fluid, the blade, and the tissue. Learn what each one needs from you and where each one goes at the end.Handle a substance you cannot identifyAn unknown gets the protection the worst plausible hazard would need. Learn what you never do to identify something, and what you write on the tube.Operate a micropipette to the correct stopThe plunger has two stops and they do opposite jobs. Learn which one fills the tip, which one empties it, and why the order decides your volume.Set a micropipette inside its volume rangeThe same digits mean three different volumes on three different instruments. Learn to read the dial for the pipette in your hand and to stop before you force it.Convert liters, milliliters and microlitersEvery step between these three units is a thousand. Learn to move between them without losing a factor of a thousand somewhere in the middle.Check pipetting accuracy and precision by massSix weighings tell you two separate things about your technique. Learn which one says close to right and which one says the same every time.Weigh agarose using tare and a weigh boatZero the balance with the boat already on it, land inside the tolerance, then rinse the boat so the powder you weighed is the powder that arrives.Handle a flask heated in a microwaveOne minute or until clear, out with a mitt, and cool until your palm agrees. Learn why the clock is not the endpoint and why hot glass looks exactly like cold glass.Add a DNA stain after the meltUnder one microliter of stain has to reach every part of a flask. Learn why it goes in after the heating and why the swirl is the only thing that spreads it.Label and store a cast gel between periodsBoth bags carry the same two facts. The plastic one keeps the water in, the paper one keeps the light out, and the same pair of materials is wrong somewhere else.Wash glassware immediately and invert it to dryMolten agarose rinses out with water. Set agarose does not. Learn the window you have and why the drying rack holds everything upside down.Keep the extraction alcohol ice coldThe materials list does not say alcohol. It says alcohol kept ice-cold. Learn what the temperature is buying you and what a warm bottle costs your result.Layer alcohol down the side of the tubeAlcohol and water mix the moment anything stirs them. Learn why the tube is held at an angle, why the pour is slow, and what the boundary between the layers is for.Fill the gel chamber with buffer, not waterThe same buffer appears twice in this workflow, once inside the gel and once around it. Learn what the dissolved salts are doing and why distilled water leaves your bands standing still.Cover the gel box before the leads go onThe workflow says cover, then attach. Learn why that order is a safety rule written as a sequence, and what the reverse order looks like at the end of a run.Store a reagent that can quietly expireSome reagents fail without looking any different. Learn why the peroxide in a presumptive blood test is one of them, and which step of the procedure catches it.Recover fingerprint powder instead of spreading itThe wand that lays powder down is the same tool that lifts it back. Learn how the magnet does both jobs and why the station is left with the powder back in its container.Set up a ring stand that cannot tipWhen you design the experiment yourself, nobody hands you the setup. Learn where the clamp goes, where the load sits, and how the stand is put away.Clean and dry dissection instrumentsThe last step of the heart examination covers tools and trays as well as the specimen. Learn why drying is the part people skip and what it costs the kit.Use the water the protocol namesThree different activities in this unit specify distilled water. Learn what is taken out of it, when that matters, and why refilling the bottle from the tap is worse than leaving it empty.
Unit 2
Collect and Chart Vital SignsUse patient evidence to collect and chart vital signs without overclaiming.Conduct A Patient HistoryUse patient evidence to conduct a patient history without overclaiming.Apply Privacy Rules HIPAAUse patient evidence to apply privacy rules (hipaa) without overclaiming.Interpret Bloodwork Against Normal RangesUse patient evidence to interpret bloodwork against normal ranges without overclaiming.Identify Risk FactorsUse patient evidence to identify risk factors without overclaiming.Read Monitoring DataUse patient evidence to read monitoring data without overclaiming.Model DNA to ProteinBuild a protein from DNA: copy the template strand into mRNA (T to U), then read codons to name the amino acids.Trace A Mutation to A PhenotypeFollow a single DNA base change through the mRNA codon and amino acid to the trait it causes.Read A Codon ChartLook up mRNA codons on a chart to name the amino acid, the start codon, and the stop codons.Interpret A KaryotypeCount chromosomes in a karyotype to spot a normal set (46), an extra chromosome (trisomy), or a missing one.Read A PedigreeUse a genetics model to read a pedigree with clear limits.Estimate Genetic RiskUse a genetics model to estimate genetic risk with clear limits.Synthesize A Diagnostic WorkupUse patient evidence to synthesize a diagnostic workup without overclaiming.Form A Differential DiagnosisUse patient evidence to form a differential diagnosis without overclaiming.Justify A RecommendationUse patient evidence to justify a recommendation without overclaiming.Handle sharps and load a sharps containerA used needle goes straight into the rigid container, uncapped, at the bench where it was used. Learn why every part of that sentence is doing work.Identify the patient and label the specimenTwo identifiers before the draw, and the label goes on at the chair right after it. Learn why pre-labelling and desk-labelling both fail.Shield your eyes at a UV transilluminatorUltraviolet light gives you no warning while it is doing damage. Learn how the unit is meant to be looked through, when the lamp is off, and what to do when the shield is missing.Rinse a stained slide until the water runs clearThe staining step is timed and the rinse is not. Learn why the rinse ends on something you observe, and why the beaker gets fresh water each time.Heat in a water bath and keep the cover onThe note says the bath has to be hot AND humid, and the cover goes back immediately. Learn what each of those words is holding in and what a quick look costs.
Unit 3
Diagram The Chain Of InfectionUse infection evidence to diagram the chain of infection step by step.Apply aseptic techniqueWork so that nothing from the room gets into your culture and nothing from your culture gets onto you: bench, hands, lids, loops and waste.Explain Immune ResponseUse infection evidence to explain immune response step by step.Build A Line ListUse infection evidence to build a line list step by step.Construct An Epidemic CurveUse infection evidence to construct an epidemic curve step by step.Identify A Causative AgentUse infection evidence to identify a causative agent step by step.Apply A Triage ProtocolApply emergency or public-health rules to apply a triage protocol.Calculate A DoseApply emergency or public-health rules to calculate a dose.Explain Drug MetabolismApply emergency or public-health rules to explain drug metabolism.Design A Surge ResponseApply emergency or public-health rules to design a surge response.Plan Public Health CommunicationApply emergency or public-health rules to plan public-health communication.Apply Usability PrinciplesUse evidence and design criteria to apply usability principles.Decontaminate the work surfaceDisinfect before and after, and leave it wet for the time on the label. Learn why a quick wipe that dries in seconds does almost nothing.Segregate biological wasteAnything that met a live culture is treated before it leaves the room. Learn which bin each item goes to, and why over-filling the biohazard bag is its own problem.Label cultures and slidesBase not lid, before not after, and four things on every label. Learn what makes a label still useful three days later to someone who was not there.Store cultures between periodsWarm to grow, cold to hold, inverted either way. Learn what storage is actually controlling and why a food refrigerator is never the answer.Apply stain reagents in orderFour reagents, one order, and one step where the timing decides the answer. Learn what each reagent does and what a skipped step produces.Work safely with an alcohol lampThe flame fixes your smear, sterilises your loop, and is nearly invisible in a bright room. Learn the four habits that keep it useful instead of dangerous.Respond to a spillTell people, cover it, work from the outside in, wait, then lift. Learn why the instinct to wipe from the middle makes a small spill into a large one.Apply standard precautions to body fluidsEvery patient, every time, no exceptions and no sorting. Learn why the protection is chosen from the task in front of you rather than from what you know about the person.Clean immersion oil off the objectiveThe materials list puts lens wipes next to the oil for a reason. Learn which objective the oil is for, what a paper towel does to a coated lens, and why oil left overnight is a different problem.Read a plate without opening itTwo days in an incubator changes what a plate is. Learn why the reading happens through the lid and why the materials list gives you a magnifying glass instead of anything that opens it.Store each kit component where it belongsOne box, two storage rules. Learn why the cultures go cold and dry while everything else stays on the shelf, and why getting it wrong shows up weeks later.Mix a working disinfectant solutionA 10 percent bleach solution is something you make, not something you pour. Learn the dilution, why it is made fresh, and the one thing it must never meet.Set out the station before you startHands, then bench, then materials. Learn why the order of those three steps is deliberate and why nobody should be walking to a cupboard with a loaded loop.Blot a sample before you put it on the balanceWater clinging to the outside weighs the same as water that moved inside. Learn why the instruction says dry it, and why it also says do not press and do not leave it.Measure a volume in the glassware made for itThe materials list gives you beakers and a graduated cylinder, and they are not the same tool. Learn which one measures, which one holds, and where to put your eye.
Unit 4
Run The Engineering Design ProcessUse evidence and design criteria to run the engineering design process.Write A Test PlanUse evidence and design criteria to write a test plan.Iterate From DataUse evidence and design criteria to iterate from data.Pitch A Data Backed InnovationUse evidence and design criteria to pitch a data-backed innovation.Revise From EvidenceUse evidence and design criteria to revise from evidence.State Limitations and Next StepsJudge whether evidence is trustworthy enough and name what limits the claim.