At the root of it, technology has long been applied to health and wellness on many levels. X-ray technology, for instance, was discovered in the 1880s and is now used by hospitals every day to see inside the bodies of patients.

But what is new, is the extent to which health sciences is embracing technology as a means to both diagnose and treat patients in a clinical setting, and study how the body works.

In 2006, more than 35,000 Canadians were employed at 1,500 biomedical engineering-related companies whose sales surpassed $6 billion. Internationally, medical devices and technologies are an industry worth an estimated $140 billion to $180 billion.

While the growth of biomedical engineering is boosting the Canadian economy, it is also bringing Alberta's three major universities together. This past fall, scientists, industry and officials from across Alberta met at a biomedical conference in Banff to discuss a joint strategy to enhance the growth of biomedical engineering in the province.

"The U of L, U of C and U of A all have representation on five working groups to make Alberta a working hub, a world leader in biomedical engineering," explains Dr. Daniel Weeks, the U of L's vice-president of research.

The Pan-Alberta Biomedical Engineering Strategy is brand new, but ultimately it hopes to enhance existing educational programs and see an increase in the number of biomedical engineering experts in Alberta.