STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Applicant’s Name : Ravi Kunaparaju

Applying For : MS in Biomedical Engineering [Fall 1999]

Specialization in a Graduate Program is a very important phase of a student’s

life. One’s entire career is based on this decision; which though looks very
small is actually too big. In my case the thought process for this decision was
not of a day or two, but of a properly planned and analyzed thinking spread
over the last three to four years.

India is the second most populated country with a very slow rate of progress
in areas of Medical Science. Though the world has seen many new frontiers
achieved in this area, only the affluent class of this country has been able to
make use of them. Also a very late marriage of Medicine & Engineering has
played a major role. It was only in the last few years that Biomedical/Medical
Electronics Engineering has been introduced in institutes in India. Though
companies like Toshiba of Japan, Siemens of Germany & GE of the US came
in this country as early as the mid-seventies, the advances made in this field
were hindered by a very low number of locally available specialists in this
area. Already fascinated as a child by equipment such as CT-Scanners, Ultra
Sound Machines etc. this realization has fuelled my curiosity, far from
satiating it.

Thirteen years of schooling at Trinity Public School, Hyderabad (India) run by

an ex-serviceman inculcated in me a sense of service and service towards
mankind. At an early age I discovered my natural inclination towards
Mathematics and Biology. I was also fascinated by the new concept of
Computer Science in those days. My penchant for Mathematics led to a liking
of abstract concepts and their implementation through computers. The world
of living organisms and their behavior amazed me. My entire time was
devoted to the relationship between Mathematics, Computers and the living
world. This made me know about Biomedical Engineering which eventually
became my undergraduate course in one of the country’s reputed institute in
this field, Manipal Institute of Technology [MIT], Karnataka. My main
advantage at MIT was that the Engineering School and its sister concern
KMC (a full-fledged hospital with a cancer institute) are housed in the same
campus. Hence giving me in-hand training.

The rigorous course curriculum of my undergraduate program has helped me

to get a broad spectrum of basic principles and concepts in various fields of
Biomedical Engineering namely, Biomedical Implants Bio-Materials,
Biomedical Signal Processing, Bio-Mechanics, Medical Ultrasonics, Hospital
Management systems etc. Broadly speaking, my course has stressed equally
on design and analysis as it has done on concepts. It has concentrated on the
basics not the nomenclature. As a product of such a program I consider
myself special. Apart from the above courses I read journals of the IEEE
[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers], Computer Society Of India,
Biomedical Society of India etc. I have also presented technical papers at the
All-India National Conference of Biomedical Engineering, which were highly
praised.

To implement my knowledge gained all along my courses I underwent

practical training at Apollo hospitals Hyderabad, one of the best of its kind.
This planted the seeds of curiosity about software in Medicine, Image
Processing in particular into my mind. All this led me to undergo special
courses in Computer Science.

At this juncture of my life I decided for a Specialization in Digital Signal &

Image Processing. My final year project is also based on a similar topic i.e.
ECG Analysis. What I had gained till then was inadequate to meet challenges
in related fields. After pursing my aspirations so far, I have firmly begun to
believe that graduate and research courses leading to a Ph.D. is an ideal and
decisive step towards my career. Hence I would like to state emphatically that
significant independent research is my ultimate goal. An undergraduate
course, though comprehensive in its curriculum, provides limited scope for
specialization. Much of the integration of advanced technologies takes place
in a graduate program. Only then can one fathom the depths of this
demanding field. Hence, I intend pursuing a research career after the
completion of my education. I feel that graduate/postgraduate study at an
American University is the best type of further education, at this point of time
because of the flexibility incorporated in its learning systems, its infrastructure,
the intense interaction with the industry and exposure to the latest technology.

With my innate interest for, my sincerity and motivation I have absolute

confidence that I would be able to contribute my mite in Signal and Image
Processing by pursuing a postgraduate program and following it up with a
doctoral research in the same field. I gather from my professors and seniors
that all these requirements are found in the department at your university.
Also, the vista of opportunities that an internationally acclaimed university as
yours can provide is tremendous. I therefore wish to further my career
ambition through graduate study at your university where I can develop my
mental faculties to new horizons in the field of Biomedical Engineering.

(RAVI KUNAPARAJU)