title: History of mobile phones

text: The first automatic analog cellular systems ever deployed were NTT's system first used in 1979 for car phones in Tokyo (and later the rest of the country of Japan), and the NMT system which was released in the Nordic countries in 1981.


title: History of mobile phones

text: The first analog cellular system widely deployed in North America was the Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS). It was commercially introduced in the Americas on 13 October 1983, Israel in 1986, and Australia in 1987. AMPS was a pioneering technology that helped drive mass market usage of cellular technology, but it had several serious issues by modern standards. It was unencrypted and easily vulnerable to eavesdropping via a scanner; it was susceptible to cell phone "cloning" and it used a Frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) scheme and required significant amounts of wireless spectrum to support.


title: History of mobile phones

text: On 6 March 1983, the DynaTAC 8000X mobile phone launched on the first US 1G network by Ameritech. It cost $100M to develop, and took over a decade to reach the market. The phone had a talk time of just thirty minutes and took ten hours to charge. Consumer demand was strong despite the battery life, weight, and low talk time, and waiting lists were in the thousands.


title: History of mobile phones

text: Many of the iconic early commercial cell phones such as the Motorola DynaTAC Analog AMPS were eventually superseded by Digital AMPS (D-AMPS) in 1990, and AMPS service was shut down by most North American carriers by 2008.


title: History of mobile phones

text: In February 1986 Australia launched its Cellular Telephone System by Telecom Australia. Peter Reedman was the first Telecom Customer to be connected on 6 January 1986 along with five other subscribers as test customers prior to the official launch date of 28 February.


title: History of mobile phones

text: In the 1990s, the 'second generation' mobile phone systems emerged. Two systems competed for supremacy in the global market: the European developed GSM standard and the U.S. developed CDMA standard. These differed from the previous generation by using digital instead of analog transmission, and also fast out-of-band phone-to-network signaling. The rise in mobile phone usage as a result of 2G was explosive and this era also saw the advent of prepaid mobile phones.


title: History of mobile phones

text: In 1991 the first GSM network (Radiolinja) launched in Finland. In general the frequencies used by 2G systems in Europe were higher than those in the United States, though with some overlap. For example, the 900 MHz frequency range was used for both 1G and 2G systems in Europe, so the 1G systems were rapidly closed down to make space for the 2G systems. In the United States, the IS-54 standard was deployed in the same band as AMPS and displaced some of the existing analog channels.


title: History of mobile phones

text: In 1993, IBM Simon was introduced. This was possibly the world's first smartphone. It was a mobile phone, pager, fax machine, and PDA all rolled into one. It included a calendar, address book, clock, calculator, notepad, email, and a touchscreen with a QWERTY keyboard. The IBM Simon had a stylus, used to tap the touch screen. It featured predictive typing that would guess the next characters as you tapped. It had applications, or at least a way to deliver more features by plugging a PCMCIA memory card into the phone.


title: History of mobile phones

text: Coinciding with the introduction of 2G systems was a trend away from the larger "brick" phones toward tiny hand-held devices. This change was possible not only through technological improvements such as more advanced batteries and more energy-efficient electronics, but also because of the higher density of cell sites to accommodate increasing usage. The latter meant that the average distance transmission from phone to the base station shortened, leading to increased battery life while on the move.


title: History of mobile phones

text: The second generation introduced a new variant of communication called SMS or text messaging. It was initially available only on GSM networks but spread eventually on all digital networks. The first machine-generated SMS message was sent in the UK on 3 December 1992 followed in 1993 by the first person-to-person SMS sent in Finland. The advent of prepaid services in the late 1990s soon made SMS the communication method of choice among the young, a trend which spread across all ages.


title: History of mobile phones

text: 2G also introduced the ability to access media content on mobile phones. In 1998 the first downloadable content sold to mobile phones was the ring tone, launched by Finland's Radiolinja (now Elisa). Advertising on the mobile phone first appeared in Finland when a free daily SMS news headline service was launched in 2000, sponsored by advertising.


title: History of mobile phones

text: Mobile payments were trialed in 1998 in Finland and Sweden where a mobile phone was used to pay for a Coca-Cola vending machine and car parking. Commercial launches followed in 1999 in Norway. The first commercial payment system to mimic banks and credit cards was launched in the Philippines in 1999 simultaneously by mobile operators Globe and Smart.


title: History of mobile phones

text: As the use of 2G phones became more widespread and people began to use mobile phones in their daily lives, it became clear that demand for data (such as access to browse the internet) was growing. Further, experience from fixed broadband services showed there would also be an ever-increasing demand for greater data speeds. The 2G technology was nowhere near up to the job, so the industry began to work on the next generation of technology known as 3G. The main technological difference that distinguishes 3G technology from 2G technology is the use of packet switching rather than circuit switching for data transmission. In addition, the standardization process focused on requirements more than technology (2 Mbit/s maximum data rate indoors, 384 kbit/s outdoors, for example).


title: History of mobile phones

text: Inevitably this led to many competing standards with different contenders pushing their own technologies, and the vision of a single unified worldwide standard looked far from reality. The standard 2G CDMA networks became 3G compliant with the adoption of Revision A to EV-DO, which made several additions to the protocol while retaining backwards compatibility:


title: History of mobile phones

text: The first pre-commercial trial network with 3G was launched by NTT DoCoMo in Japan in the Tokyo region in May 2001. NTT DoCoMo launched the first commercial 3G network on 1 October 2001, using the WCDMA technology. In 2002 the first 3G networks on the rival CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology were launched by SK Telecom and KTF in South Korea, and Monet in the US. Monet has since gone bankrupt. By the end of 2002, the second WCDMA network was launched in Japan by Vodafone KK (now Softbank). European launches of 3G were in Italy and the UK by Three/Hutchison group, on WCDMA. 2003 saw a further eight commercial launches of 3G, six more on WCDMA and two more on the EV-DO standard.


title: History of mobile phones

text: During the development of 3G systems, 2.5G systems such as CDMA2000 1x and GPRS were developed as extensions to existing 2G networks. These provide some of the features of 3G without fulfilling the promised high data rates or full range of multimedia services. CDMA2000-1X delivers theoretical maximum data speeds of up to 307 kbit/s. Just beyond these is the EDGE system which in theory covers the requirements for 3G system, but is so narrowly above these that any practical system would be sure to fall short.


title: History of mobile phones

text: The high connection speeds of 3G technology enabled a transformation in the industry: for the first time, media streaming of radio (and even television) content to 3G handsets became possible, with companies such as RealNetworks and Disney among the early pioneers in this type of offering.


title: History of mobile phones

text: In the mid-2000s, an evolution of 3G technology began to be implemented, namely High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA). It is an enhanced 3G (third generation) mobile telephony communication protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) family, also coined 3.5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G, which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity. Current HSDPA deployments support down-link speeds of 1.8, 3.6, 7.2 and 14.0 Mbit/s.


title: History of mobile phones

text: By the end of 2007, there were 295 million subscribers on 3G networks worldwide, which reflected 9% of the total worldwide subscriber base. About two thirds of these were on the WCDMA standard and one third on the EV-DO standard. The 3G telecoms services generated over $120 billion of revenues during 2007 and at many markets the majority of new phones activated were 3G phones. In Japan and South Korea the market no longer supplies phones of the second generation.


title: History of mobile phones

text: Although mobile phones had long had the ability to access data networks such as the Internet, it was not until the widespread availability of good quality 3G coverage in the mid-2000s (decade) that specialized devices appeared to access the mobile web. The first such devices, known as "dongles", plugged directly into a computer through the USB port. Another new class of device appeared subsequently, the so-called "compact wireless router" such as the Novatel MiFi, which makes 3G Internet connectivity available to multiple computers simultaneously over Wi-Fi, rather than just to a single computer via a USB plug-in.


title: History of mobile phones

text: Such devices became especially popular for use with laptop computers due to the added portability they bestow. Consequently, some computer manufacturers started to embed the mobile data function directly into the laptop so a dongle or MiFi wasn't needed. Instead, the SIM card could be inserted directly into the device itself to access the mobile data services. Such 3G-capable laptops became commonly known as "netbooks". Other types of data-aware devices followed in the netbook's footsteps. By the beginning of 2010, E-readers, such as the Amazon Kindle and the Nook from Barnes & Noble, had already become available with embedded wireless Internet, and Apple had announced plans for embedded wireless Internet on its iPad tablet devices later that year.


title: History of mobile phones

text: By 2009, it had become clear that, at some point, 3G networks would be overwhelmed by the growth of bandwidth-intensive applications like streaming media. Consequently, the industry began looking to data-optimized 4th-generation technologies, with the promise of speed improvements up to 10-fold over existing 3G technologies. The first two commercially available technologies billed as 4G were the WiMAX standard (offered in the U.S. by Sprint) and the LTE standard, first offered in Scandinavia by TeliaSonera.


title: History of mobile phones

text: One of the main ways in which 4G differed technologically from 3G was in its elimination of circuit switching, instead employing an all-IP network. Thus, 4G ushered in a treatment of voice calls just like any other type of streaming audio media, using packet switching over Internet, LAN or WAN networks via VoIP.


title: History of mobile phones

text: "5G" is the next version of cellular mobile telephone standards. The 5G standards include millimetre-band radio spectrum to allow data speeds up to 1 gigabit per second, and reduce latency (the processing time to handle a data transmission) between handset and network to a few milliseconds. 5G standards also include low-band and mid-band spectrum similar to existing networks. Telephone companies are introducing 5G technology starting in 2019.


title: History of mobile phones

text: Before a universal charger standard was agreed upon in the late 2000s users needed an adapter which was often proprietary by brand or manufacturer to charge their battery. Later, mobile phones from major brands typically used a USB cable with a micro-USB or, since the mid-2010s, USB-C interface. Apple's iPhone is the sole major brand to retain its own interface (30-pin dock connector replaced by Lightning in 2012).


title: History of mobile phones

text: , all new mobile phones applying for a license in China are required to use a USB port as a power port for battery charging. This was the first standard to use the convention of shorting D+ and D−.


title: History of mobile phones

text: In September 2007, the Open Mobile Terminal Platform group (a forum of mobile network operators and manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and LG) announced that its members had agreed on Micro-USB as the future common connector for mobile devices.


title: History of mobile phones

text: The GSM Association (GSMA) followed suit on 17 February 2009, and on 22 April 2009, this was further endorsed by the CTIA – The Wireless Association, with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) announcing on 22 October 2009 that it had also embraced the Universal Charging Solution as its "energy-efficient one-charger-fits-all new mobile phone solution," and added: "Based on the Micro-USB interface, UCS chargers will also include a 4-star or higher efficiency rating—up to three times more energy-efficient than an unrated charger."


title: History of mobile phones

text: In June 2009, many of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers signed an EC-sponsored Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), agreeing to make most data-enabled mobile phones marketed in the European Union compatible with a common External Power Supply (common EPS). The EU's common EPS specification (EN 62684:2010) references the USB Battery Charging Specification and is similar to the GSMA/OMTP and Chinese charging solutions. In January 2011, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) released its version of the (EU's) common EPS standard as IEC 62684:2011.


title: History of mobile phones

text: As well as the now-common cellular phone, there is also the very different approach of connecting directly from the handset to an Earth-orbiting satellite. Such mobile phones can be used in remote areas out of reach of wired networks or where construction of a cellular network is uneconomic.


title: History of mobile phones

text: The Inmarsat system is the oldest, originally developed in 1979 for safety of life at sea, and uses a series of satellites in geostationary orbits to cover the majority of the globe. Several smaller operators use the same approach with just one or two satellites to provide a regional service. An alternative approach is to use a series of low Earth orbit satellites much closer to Earth. This is the basis of the Iridium and Globalstar satellite phone services.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences to advance health care treatment, including diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy. Also included under the scope of a biomedical engineer is the management of current medical equipment in hospitals while adhering to relevant industry standards. This involves procurement, routine testing, preventive maintenance, and making equipment recommendations, a role also known as a Biomedical Equipment Technician (BMET) or as clinical engineering.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Biomedical engineering has recently emerged as its own study, as compared to many other engineering fields. Such an evolution is common as a new field transition from being an interdisciplinary specialization among already-established fields to being considered a field in itself. Much of the work in biomedical engineering consists of research and development, spanning a broad array of subfields (see below). Prominent biomedical engineering applications include the development of biocompatible prostheses, various diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices ranging from clinical equipment to micro-implants, common imaging equipment such as MRIs and EKG/ECGs, regenerative tissue growth, pharmaceutical drugs and therapeutic biologicals.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data. As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combines computer science, statistics, mathematics, and engineering to analyze and interpret biological data.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Bioinformatics is considered both an umbrella term for the body of biological studies that use computer programming as part of their methodology, as well as a reference to specific analysis "pipelines" that are repeatedly used, particularly in the field of genomics. Common uses of bioinformatics include the identification of candidate genes and nucleotides (SNPs). Often, such identification is made with the aim of better understanding the genetic basis of disease, unique adaptations, desirable properties (esp. in agricultural species), or differences between populations. In a less formal way, bioinformatics also tries to understand the organizational principles within nucleic acid and protein sequences.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Biomechanics is the study of the structure and function of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to organs, cells and cell organelles, using the methods of mechanics.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: A biomaterial is any matter, surface, or construct that interacts with living systems. As a science, biomaterials is about fifty years old. The study of biomaterials is called biomaterials science or biomaterials engineering. It has experienced steady and strong growth over its history, with many companies investing large amounts of money into the development of new products. Biomaterials science encompasses elements of medicine, biology, chemistry, tissue engineering and materials science.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Biomedical optics refers to the interaction of biological tissue and light, and how this can be exploited for sensing, imaging, and treatment.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Tissue engineering, like genetic engineering (see below), is a major segment of biotechnology – which overlaps significantly with BME.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: One of the goals of tissue engineering is to create artificial organs (via biological material) for patients that need organ transplants. Biomedical engineers are currently researching methods of creating such organs. Researchers have grown solid jawbones and tracheas from human stem cells towards this end. Several artificial urinary bladders have been grown in laboratories and transplanted successfully into human patients. Bioartificial organs, which use both synthetic and biological component, are also a focus area in research, such as with hepatic assist devices that use liver cells within an artificial bioreactor construct.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Genetic engineering, recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM) and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct manipulation of an organism's genes. Unlike traditional breeding, an indirect method of genetic manipulation, genetic engineering utilizes modern tools such as molecular cloning and transformation to directly alter the structure and characteristics of target genes. Genetic engineering techniques have found success in numerous applications. Some examples include the improvement of crop technology ("not a medical application", but see biological systems engineering), the manufacture of synthetic human insulin through the use of modified bacteria, the manufacture of erythropoietin in hamster ovary cells, and the production of new types of experimental mice such as the oncomouse (cancer mouse) for research.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Neural engineering (also known as neuroengineering) is a discipline that uses engineering techniques to understand, repair, replace, or enhance neural systems. Neural engineers are uniquely qualified to solve design problems at the interface of living neural tissue and non-living constructs.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Pharmaceutical engineering is an interdisciplinary science that includes drug engineering, novel drug delivery and targeting, pharmaceutical technology, unit operations of Chemical Engineering, and Pharmaceutical Analysis. It may be deemed as a part of pharmacy due to its focus on the use of technology on chemical agents in providing better medicinal treatment.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: This is an "extremely broad category"—essentially covering all health care products that do not achieve their intended results through predominantly chemical (e.g., pharmaceuticals) or biological (e.g., vaccines) means, and do not involve metabolism.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Some examples include pacemakers, infusion pumps, the heart-lung machine, dialysis machines, artificial organs, implants, artificial limbs, corrective lenses, cochlear implants, ocular prosthetics, facial prosthetics, somato prosthetics, and dental implants.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Stereolithography is a practical example of "medical modeling" being used to create physical objects. Beyond modeling organs and the human body, emerging engineering techniques are also currently used in the research and development of new devices for innovative therapies, treatments, patient monitoring, of complex diseases.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Medical/biomedical imaging is a major segment of medical devices. This area deals with enabling clinicians to directly or indirectly "view" things not visible in plain sight (such as due to their size, and/or location). This can involve utilizing ultrasound, magnetism, UV, radiology, and other means.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Imaging technologies are often essential to medical diagnosis, and are typically the most complex equipment found in a hospital including: fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, positron emission tomography (PET), PET-CT scans, projection radiography such as X-rays and CT scans, tomography, ultrasound, optical microscopy, and electron microscopy.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: An implant is a kind of medical device made to replace and act as a missing biological structure (as compared with a transplant, which indicates transplanted biomedical tissue). The surface of implants that contact the body might be made of a biomedical material such as titanium, silicone or apatite depending on what is the most functional. In some cases, implants contain electronics, e.g. artificial pacemakers and cochlear implants. Some implants are bioactive, such as subcutaneous drug delivery devices in the form of implantable pills or drug-eluting stents.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Artificial body part replacements are one of the many applications of bionics. Concerned with the intricate and thorough study of the properties and function of human body systems, bionics may be applied to solve some engineering problems. Careful study of the different functions and processes of the eyes, ears, and other organs paved the way for improved cameras, television, radio transmitters and receivers, and many other tools.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: In recent years biomedical sensors based in microwave technology have gained more attention. Different sensors can be manufactured for specific uses in both diagnosing and monitoring disease conditions, for example microwave sensors can be used as a complementary technique to X-ray to monitor lower extremity trauma. The sensor monitor the dielectric properties and can thus notice change in tissue (bone, muscle, fat etc.) under the skin so when measuring at different times during the healing process the response from the sensor will change as the trauma heals.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Clinical engineering is the branch of biomedical engineering dealing with the actual implementation of medical equipment and technologies in hospitals or other clinical settings. Major roles of clinical engineers include training and supervising biomedical equipment technicians (BMETs), selecting technological products/services and logistically managing their implementation, working with governmental regulators on inspections/audits, and serving as technological consultants for other hospital staff (e.g. physicians, administrators, I.T., etc.). Clinical engineers also advise and collaborate with medical device producers regarding prospective design improvements based on clinical experiences, as well as monitor the progression of the state of the art so as to redirect procurement patterns accordingly.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Their inherent focus on "practical" implementation of technology has tended to keep them oriented more towards "incremental"-level redesigns and reconfigurations, as opposed to revolutionary research & development or ideas that would be many years from clinical adoption; however, there is a growing effort to expand this time-horizon over which clinical engineers can influence the trajectory of biomedical innovation. In their various roles, they form a "bridge" between the primary designers and the end-users, by combining the perspectives of being both close to the point-of-use, while also trained in product and process engineering. Clinical engineering departments will sometimes hire not just biomedical engineers, but also industrial/systems engineers to help address operations research/optimization, human factors, cost analysis, etc. Also, see safety engineering for a discussion of the procedures used to design safe systems. The clinical engineering department is constructed with a manager, supervisor, engineer, and technician. One engineer per eighty beds in the hospital is the ratio. Clinical engineers are also authorized to audit pharmaceutical and associated stores to monitor FDA recalls of invasive items.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Rehabilitation engineering is the systematic application of engineering sciences to design, develop, adapt, test, evaluate, apply, and distribute technological solutions to problems confronted by individuals with disabilities. Functional areas addressed through rehabilitation engineering may include mobility, communications, hearing, vision, and cognition, and activities associated with employment, independent living, education, and integration into the community.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: While some rehabilitation engineers have master's degrees in rehabilitation engineering, usually a subspecialty of Biomedical engineering, most rehabilitation engineers have an undergraduate or graduate degrees in biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, or electrical engineering. A Portuguese university provides an undergraduate degree and a master's degree in Rehabilitation Engineering and Accessibility. Qualification to become a Rehab' Engineer in the UK is possible via a University BSc Honours Degree course such as Health Design & Technology Institute, Coventry University.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: The rehabilitation process for people with disabilities often entails the design of assistive devices such as Walking aids intended to promote the inclusion of their users into the mainstream of society, commerce, and recreation.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Regulatory issues have been constantly increased in the last decades to respond to the many incidents caused by devices to patients. For example, from 2008 to 2011, in US, there were 119 FDA recalls of medical devices classified as class I. According to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Class I recall is associated to "a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death"


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Regardless of the country-specific legislation, the main regulatory objectives coincide worldwide. For example, in the medical device regulations, a product must be: 1) safe "and" 2) effective and 3) for all the manufactured devices (why is this part deleted?)


title: Biomedical engineering

text: A product is safe if patients, users, and third parties do not run unacceptable risks of physical hazards (death, injuries, ...) in its intended use. Protective measures have to be introduced on the devices to reduce residual risks at an acceptable level if compared with the benefit derived from the use of it.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: A product is effective if it performs as specified by the manufacturer in the intended use. Effectiveness is achieved through clinical evaluation, compliance to performance standards or demonstrations of substantial equivalence with an already marketed device.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: The previous features have to be ensured for all the manufactured items of the medical device. This requires that a quality system shall be in place for all the relevant entities and processes that may impact safety and effectiveness over the whole medical device lifecycle.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: The medical device engineering area is among the most heavily regulated fields of engineering, and practicing biomedical engineers must routinely consult and cooperate with regulatory law attorneys and other experts. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the principal healthcare regulatory authority in the United States, having jurisdiction over medical "devices, drugs, biologics, and combination" products. The paramount objectives driving policy decisions by the FDA are safety and effectiveness of healthcare products that have to be assured through a quality system in place as specified under 21 CFR 829 regulation. In addition, because biomedical engineers often develop devices and technologies for "consumer" use, such as physical therapy devices (which are also "medical" devices), these may also be governed in some respects by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The greatest hurdles tend to be 510K "clearance" (typically for Class 2 devices) or pre-market "approval" (typically for drugs and class 3 devices).


title: Biomedical engineering

text: In the European context, safety effectiveness and quality is ensured through the "Conformity Assessment" which is defined as "the method by which a manufacturer demonstrates that its device complies with the requirements of the European Medical Device Directive". The directive specifies different procedures according to the class of the device ranging from the simple Declaration of Conformity (Annex VII) for Class I devices to EC verification (Annex IV), Production quality assurance (Annex V), Product quality assurance (Annex VI) and Full quality assurance (Annex II). The Medical Device Directive specifies detailed procedures for Certification. In general terms, these procedures include tests and verifications that are to be contained in specific deliveries such as the risk management file, the technical file, and the quality system deliveries. The risk management file is the first deliverable that conditions the following design and manufacturing steps. The risk management stage shall drive the product so that product risks are reduced at an acceptable level with respect to the benefits expected for the patients for the use of the device. The technical file contains all the documentation data and records supporting medical device certification. FDA technical file has similar content although organized in a different structure. The Quality System deliverables usually include procedures that ensure quality throughout all product life cycles. The same standard (ISO EN 13485) is usually applied for quality management systems in the US and worldwide.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: In the European Union, there are certifying entities named "Notified Bodies", accredited by the European Member States. The Notified Bodies must ensure the effectiveness of the certification process for all medical devices apart from the class I devices where a declaration of conformity produced by the manufacturer is sufficient for marketing. Once a product has passed all the steps required by the Medical Device Directive, the device is entitled to bear a CE marking, indicating that the device is believed to be safe and effective when used as intended, and, therefore, it can be marketed within the European Union area.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: The different regulatory arrangements sometimes result in particular technologies being developed first for either the U.S. or in Europe depending on the more favorable form of regulation. While nations often strive for substantive harmony to facilitate cross-national distribution, philosophical differences about the "optimal extent" of regulation can be a hindrance; more restrictive regulations seem appealing on an intuitive level, but critics decry the tradeoff cost in terms of slowing access to life-saving developments.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Directive 2011/65/EU, better known as RoHS 2 is a recast of legislation originally introduced in 2002. The original EU legislation "Restrictions of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronics Devices" (RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC) was replaced and superseded by 2011/65/EU published in July 2011 and commonly known as RoHS 2.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: RoHS seeks to limit the dangerous substances in circulation in electronics products, in particular toxins and heavy metals, which are subsequently released into the environment when such devices are recycled.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: The scope of RoHS 2 is widened to include products previously excluded, such as medical devices and industrial equipment. In addition, manufacturers are now obliged to provide conformity risk assessments and test reports – or explain why they are lacking. For the first time, not only manufacturers but also importers and distributors share a responsibility to ensure Electrical and Electronic Equipment within the scope of RoHS complies with the hazardous substances limits and have a CE mark on their products.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: The new International Standard IEC 60601 for home healthcare electro-medical devices defining the requirements for devices used in the home healthcare environment. IEC 60601-1-11 (2010) must now be incorporated into the design and verification of a wide range of home use and point of care medical devices along with other applicable standards in the IEC 60601 3rd edition series.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: The mandatory date for implementation of the EN European version of the standard is June 1, 2013. The US FDA requires the use of the standard on June 30, 2013, while Health Canada recently extended the required date from June 2012 to April 2013. The North American agencies will only require these standards for new device submissions, while the EU will take the more severe approach of requiring all applicable devices being placed on the market to consider the home healthcare standard.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: AS/ANS 3551:2012 is the Australian and New Zealand standards for the management of medical devices. The standard specifies the procedures required to maintain a wide range of medical assets in a clinical setting (e.g. Hospital). The standards are based on the IEC 606101 standards.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: The standard covers a wide range of medical equipment management elements including, procurement, acceptance testing, maintenance (electrical safety and preventive maintenance testing) and decommissioning.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Biomedical engineers require considerable knowledge of both engineering and biology, and typically have a Bachelor's (B.Sc., B.S., B.Eng. or B.S.E.) or Master's (M.S., M.Sc., M.S.E., or M.Eng.) or a doctoral (Ph.D., or MD-PhD) degree in BME (Biomedical Engineering) or another branch of engineering with considerable potential for BME overlap. As interest in BME increases, many engineering colleges now have a Biomedical Engineering Department or Program, with offerings ranging from the undergraduate (B.Sc., B.S., B.Eng. or B.S.E.) to doctoral levels. Biomedical engineering has only recently been emerging as "its own discipline" rather than a cross-disciplinary hybrid specialization of other disciplines; and BME programs at all levels are becoming more widespread, including the Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering which includes enough biological science content that many students use it as a "pre-med" major in preparation for medical school. The number of biomedical engineers is expected to rise as both a cause and effect of improvements in medical technology.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: In the U.S., an increasing number of undergraduate programs are also becoming recognized by ABET as accredited bioengineering/biomedical engineering programs. Over 65 programs are currently accredited by ABET.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: In Canada and Australia, accredited graduate programs in biomedical engineering are common. For example, McMaster University offers an M.A.Sc, an MD/PhD, and a PhD in Biomedical engineering. The first Canadian undergraduate BME program was offered at Ryerson University as a four-year B.Eng. program. The Polytechnique in Montreal is also offering a bachelors's degree in biomedical engineering as is Flinders University.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: As with many degrees, the reputation and ranking of a program may factor into the desirability of a degree holder for either employment or graduate admission. The reputation of many undergraduate degrees is also linked to the institution's graduate or research programs, which have some tangible factors for rating, such as research funding and volume, publications and citations. With BME specifically, the ranking of a university's hospital and medical school can also be a significant factor in the perceived prestige of its BME department/program.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Graduate education is a particularly important aspect in BME. While many engineering fields (such as mechanical or electrical engineering) do not need graduate-level training to obtain an entry-level job in their field, the majority of BME positions do prefer or even require them. Since most BME-related professions involve scientific research, such as in pharmaceutical and medical device development, graduate education is almost a requirement (as undergraduate degrees typically do not involve sufficient research training and experience). This can be either a Masters or Doctoral level degree; while in certain specialties a Ph.D. is notably more common than in others, it is hardly ever the majority (except in academia). In fact, the perceived need for some kind of graduate credential is so strong that some undergraduate BME programs will actively discourage students from majoring in BME without an expressed intention to also obtain a master's degree or apply to medical school afterwards.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Graduate programs in BME, like in other scientific fields, are highly varied, and particular programs may emphasize certain aspects within the field. They may also feature extensive collaborative efforts with programs in other fields (such as the university's Medical School or other engineering divisions), owing again to the interdisciplinary nature of BME. M.S. and Ph.D. programs will typically require applicants to have an undergraduate degree in BME, or "another engineering" discipline (plus certain life science coursework), or "life science" (plus certain engineering coursework).


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Education in BME also varies greatly around the world. By virtue of its extensive biotechnology sector, its numerous major universities, and relatively few internal barriers, the U.S. has progressed a great deal in its development of BME education and training opportunities. Europe, which also has a large biotechnology sector and an impressive education system, has encountered trouble in creating uniform standards as the European community attempts to supplant some of the national jurisdictional barriers that still exist. Recently, initiatives such as BIOMEDEA have sprung up to develop BME-related education and professional standards. Other countries, such as Australia, are recognizing and moving to correct deficiencies in their BME education. Also, as high technology endeavors are usually marks of developed nations, some areas of the world are prone to slower development in education, including in BME.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: As with other learned professions, each state has certain (fairly similar) requirements for becoming licensed as a registered Professional Engineer (PE), but, in US, in industry such a license is not required to be an employee as an engineer in the majority of situations (due to an exception known as the industrial exemption, which effectively applies to the vast majority of American engineers). The US model has generally been only to require the practicing engineers offering engineering services that impact the public welfare, safety, safeguarding of life, health, or property to be licensed, while engineers working in private industry without a direct offering of engineering services to the public or other businesses, education, and government need not be licensed. This is notably not the case in many other countries, where a license is as legally necessary to practice engineering as it is for law or medicine.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Biomedical engineering is regulated in some countries, such as Australia, but registration is typically only recommended and not required.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: In the UK, mechanical engineers working in the areas of Medical Engineering, Bioengineering or Biomedical engineering can gain Chartered Engineer status through the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The Institution also runs the Engineering in Medicine and Health Division. The Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) has a panel for the accreditation of MSc courses in Biomedical Engineering and Chartered Engineering status can also be sought through IPEM.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: The Fundamentals of Engineering exam – the first (and more general) of two licensure examinations for most U.S. jurisdictions—does now cover biology (although technically not BME). For the second exam, called the Principles and Practices, Part 2, or the Professional Engineering exam, candidates may select a particular engineering discipline's content to be tested on; there is currently not an option for BME with this, meaning that any biomedical engineers seeking a license must prepare to take this examination in another category (which does not affect the actual license, since most jurisdictions do not recognize discipline specialties anyway). However, the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) is, as of 2009, exploring the possibility of seeking to implement a BME-specific version of this exam to facilitate biomedical engineers pursuing licensure.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: Beyond governmental registration, certain private-sector professional/industrial organizations also offer certifications with varying degrees of prominence. One such example is the Certified Clinical Engineer (CCE) certification for Clinical engineers.


title: Biomedical engineering

text: In 2012 there were about 19,400 biomedical engineers employed in the US, and the field was predicted to grow by 5% (faster than average) from 2012 to 2022. Biomedical engineering has the highest percentage of female engineers compared to other common engineering professions.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro formed, as the Socialist Republic of Montenegro in honour of Marshal Josip Broz Tito. The city was largely destroyed during the bombing of Podgorica in World War II and accordingly the city is now dominated by architecture from the following decades of communism. Further but less substantial damage was caused by the 1999 bombing by NATO forces.


title: Podgorica

text: The surrounding landscape is predominantly mountainous terrain. The city is just north of the Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Historically, it was Podgorica’s position at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers and at the meeting-point of the fertile Zeta Plain and Bjelopavlići Valley that encouraged settlement.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica is written in Cyrillic as Подгорица, ; , ; "Podgorica" literally means "area below Gorica". "Gorica" (), a diminutive of the word Gora (Cyrillic: Гора) which is another word for Mountain or Hill, means "little/small hill", is the name of one of the cypress-covered hillocks that overlooks the city center. Some three kilometres () north-west of Podgorica lie the ruins of the Roman-era town of Doclea, from which the Roman Emperor Diocletian's mother hailed. In later centuries, Romans "corrected" the name to , guessing wrongly that an "i" had been lost in vulgar speech. is the later South Slavic version of same word. At its foundation (some time before the 11th century), the town was called (In Illyrian or nowadays Albanian language means Black Hole). In the Middle Ages, it was known as Ribnica (, ). The name Podgorica was used from 1326. From 1946 to 1992, the city was named Titograd () in honour of Josip Broz Tito, the President of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1953 to 1980. In 1992 the city changed its name to "Podgorica", which it remains today.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica is at the crossroads of several historically important routes, near the rivers Zeta, Morača, Cijevna, Ribnica, Sitnica and Mareza in the valley of Lake Skadar and near the Adriatic Sea, in fertile lowlands with favourable climate. The earliest human settlements were in prehistory: the oldest physical remains are from the late Stone Age.


title: Podgorica

text: In the Iron Age, the area between the Zeta and Bjelopavlići valleys was occupied by two Illyrian tribes, the Labeates and the Docleatae. The population of the town of Doclea was 8,000–10,000, in which all core urban issues were resolved. The high population density (in an area of about radius) was made possible by the geographical position, favorable climate, and economic conditions and by the defensive positions that were of great importance at that time.


title: Podgorica

text: From the fifth century AD, with the arrival of the first Slavic and Avar tribes and the beginning of the break-up of the Roman Empire, the area bore witness to many noteworthy events. With time, the fortifications ceased their function, and new towns were built; a new settlement probably named after the Ribnica river, on whose banks it was built, Ribnica, was established. It was first mentioned during the reign of the Nemanjić dynasty, as part of the Serbian kingdom. The importance of Ribnica was its position as crossroads in communications with the west.


title: Podgorica

text: The name Podgorica was first mentioned in 1326 in a court document of the Kotor archives. The city was economically strong: trade routes between the Republic of Ragusa and Serbia, well developed at that time, were maintained via the road that led to Podgorica through Trebinje and Nikšić. As a busy crossroads, Podgorica was a vibrant regional center of trade and communication. This boosted its development, economic power, military strength, and strategic importance.


title: Podgorica

text: The Ottoman Empire captured Podgorica in 1474. Podgorica became a kaza of the Sanjak of Scutari (which was historically led by Albanian Pashas). In 1479, The Ottomans built a large fortress in Podgorica, and the existing settlement, with its highly developed merchant connections, became the main Ottoman defensive and attacking bastion in the region. At the beginning of 1474 the Ottoman sultan intended to rebuild Podgorica and Baleč and settle them with 5,000 Muslim families (most of them of Albanian or Slavic origin), in order to stop cooperation between the Principality of Zeta and Albania Veneta.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica fell again, but this time to the Ottomans in 1484, and the character of the town changed extensively. The Ottomans fortified the city, building towers, gates, and defensive ramparts that give Podgorica the appearance of an Ottoman military city.


title: Podgorica

text: Most of today's Montenegro and Podgorica fell under the rule of the Albanian Bushati Family of Shkodra between 1760 and 1831, which ruled independently from the Imperial authority of the Ottoman Sultan.


title: Podgorica

text: In 1864, Podgorica became a "kaze" of the Scutari Vilayet called Böğürtlen ("blackberry", also known as Burguriçe).


title: Podgorica

text: On 7 October 1874, in a violent reaction over the murder of a local named Juso Mučin Krnić, Ottoman forces killed at least 15 people in Podgorica. The massacre was widely reported outside of Montenegro and ultimately contributed to the buildup to the Montenegrin-Ottoman War.


title: Podgorica

text: The end of the Montenegrin-Ottoman War in 1878 resulted in the Congress of Berlin recognizing vast territories, including that of Podgorica, as part of the newly recognized Kingdom of Montenegro. At that time there were about 1,500 houses in Podgorica, with more than 8,000 people living there – of Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Muslim faiths flourishing together.


title: Podgorica

text: After the Berlin Congress in 1878, when Podgorica was annexed to the Principality of Montenegro, marking the end of four centuries of Ottoman rule, and the beginning of a new era for Podgorica and Montenegro. The first forms of capital concentration were seen in 1902 when roads were built to all neighboring towns, and tobacco became Podgorica's first significant commercial product. Then in 1904, a savings bank named Zetska formed the first significant financial institution, and it would soon grow into Podgorička Bank.


title: Podgorica

text: World War I marked the end of dynamic development for Podgorica, which by then was the largest city in the newly proclaimed Kingdom of Montenegro. On 10 August 1914, nine military personnel and 13 civilians were killed in Podgorica from an aerial bombardment by Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops. The city was bombed three more times in 1915. Podgorica was occupied, as was the rest of the country, by Austria-Hungary from 1916 to 1918.


title: Podgorica

text: After the liberation by the Allies in 1918, the controversial Podgorica Assembly marked the end of Montenegrin statehood, as Montenegro was merged with the Kingdom of Serbia and incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The population of urban Podgorica during this interwar period was approximately 14,000.


title: Podgorica

text: During the interwar period (1918–1941), Podgorica had public bathrooms as most residents did not have their own. However, the "Imperial" hotel built in 1925 had two bathrooms, which was unprecedented at the time. It was one of at least six hotels built in the city during the interwar period.


title: Podgorica

text: After the Yugoslav coup d'état on 27 March 1941, demonstrations supporting the coup took place in Podgorica. As a result of the coup, Yugoslavia turned against its previous alliance with the Axis powers and was subsequently invaded. Podgorica was bombed over 80 times throughout the course of the war. The city was first bombed by the Luftwaffe on 6 April 1941. On 5 May 1944, Podgorica was bombed by the USAAF in an attack against Axis forces, although the bombardment that day killed approximately 400 civilians. The city was liberated on 19 December 1944. According to the Belgrade Museum of Genocide Victims, a total of 1,691 people were killed in Podgorica over the course of the war.


title: Podgorica

text: On 12 July 1946, Josip Broz Tito made one of his early visits to Podgorica from the "Radovče" hotel, where he spoke to a crowd. It was the first of fifteen total visits made by Tito to the city after World War II.


title: Podgorica

text: On 25 July 1948, the vice president of the People's Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Mugoša, along with secretary Gavron Cemović, signed a law changing the name of Podgorica into "Titovgrad". The law was "retroactively" activated such that the name change applied to any records starting from 13 July 1946, when it became the capital of Montenegro within the newly formed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. However, in a glaring contradiction, the "Službeni list" or legal code of Yugoslavia recorded the name "Titograd" without the letter "v". Ultimately, "Titograd" was used over "Titovgrad".


title: Podgorica

text: In addition to the new name, Titograd saw the establishment of new factories. The Radoje Dakić factory, built-in 1946 for the production of heavy machinery, became one of the largest employers in Titograd. In 1964, Radoje Dakić guaranteed hired workers an apartment in the city. In the late 1960s, the cities of Titograd, Zadar, and Mostar competed to be selected as the location of Yugoslavia's expanding aluminum industry. In a highly politicized selection process, Titograd was ultimately chosen and the Kombinat was constructed in 1969. In 1974, the public Veljko Vlahović University was founded in Titograd. On 15 April 1979, the city suffered damage by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake.


title: Podgorica

text: Titograd was the site of massive protests during Yugoslavia's anti-bureaucratic revolution. On 10 January 1989, over 10,000 people protested in the city. By the turn of the decade, Titograd was recognized as the city with the most greenery in Yugoslavia, along with Banja Luka.


title: Podgorica

text: As Yugoslavia began to break up, Titograd was renamed to Podgorica after a referendum on 2 April 1992. On 25 May 1992, Podgorica was the site of a Serbian Radical Party rally of approximately 10,000 supporters, during which a Montenegrin Bosniak man named Adem Šabotić attempted to assassinate Vojislav Šešelj via hand bomb after his supporters chanted references to killing Muslims. Šešelj, his bodyguards, and a few bystanders were injured after the bomb detonated but no one was killed.


title: Podgorica

text: Otherwise, the Yugoslav wars largely bypassed Podgorica, but the entire country was greatly affected with severe economic stagnation and hyperinflation lasting throughout the 1990s due to international sanctions. In 1999, Podgorica was subject to airstrikes during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.


title: Podgorica

text: On 13 July 2005, the newly constructed Millennium Bridge opened for traffic. Following the results of the independence referendum in May 2006, Podgorica saw significant development as the capital of an independent state, including the reconstruction and renaming of the former Ivan Milutinović Square to Independence Square.


title: Podgorica

text: On 13 October 2008, at least 10,000 people protested Kosovo's declaration of independence. On 19 December 2008, the Moscow Bridge opened for pedestrians.


title: Podgorica

text: On 7 August 2013, the 60-year old Hotel "Crna Gora" was demolished to make way for the new Hilton in its place, which opened in 2016. Construction of the Cathedral of Christ's Resurrection finished after 20 years on 7 October 2013.


title: Podgorica

text: In October 2015, protests took place in Podgorica ahead of Montenegro's accession into NATO. After a demonstration of at least 5,000 to 8,000 people, the police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators from the parliament. Protests in the city continued through the 2016 Montenegrin parliamentary election. On 22 February 2018, a Yugoslav Army veteran killed himself at the US embassy in Podgorica.


title: Podgorica

text: The city administration consists of a mayor, city assembly, and a number of secretariats and administrative bodies which together act as a city local government. The city assembly has 61 members, elected directly for four-year terms. The mayor used to be directly elected for a five-year term, but since the new law was introduced in Montenegrin municipalities mayors will be elected by the city assembly and will have to maintain its support during the term. Separate elections are held for the local sub-division of Golubovci since it is part of their administrative autonomy inside Podgorica municipality. Constant questions are raised by various politicians over gaining separate municipality status for Golubovci. In 2018, Tuzi became its own municipality after a vote on the Montenegrin Parliament.


title: Podgorica

text: On local elections held on 25 May 2014, the Democratic Party of Socialists won 29 seats in the municipal assembly, one short of 30 needed to form a majority. Democratic Front won 17 seats, SNP won 8 seats, while coalition made of Positive Montenegro and SDP won 5 seats. After lengthy negotiations, SDP dissolved coalition with Pozitivna and made an arrangement on forming a majority with DPS, similar to one they have in national government. While SDP is a longtime partner of DPS at the national level, it has been in opposition to Podgorica municipal assembly in 2010–2014 period.


title: Podgorica

text: Since October 2014, the position of the mayor is held by DPS official, Slavoljub Stijepović, replacing Podgorica mayor od 14 years, Miomir Mugoša. Since October 2018, the position of the Mayor is held by DPS Vicepredsident dr Ivan Vuković, replacing Slavoljub Stijepović.


title: Podgorica

text: The municipality of Podgorica consists of "Podgorica City Proper" and one subdivision (called "city municipality," градске општине, "gradske opštine"), which is Golubovci.


title: Podgorica

text: The entire municipality of Podgorica is further divided into 57 "local communities" (мјесне заједнице, "mjesne zajednice"), bodies in which the citizens participate in decisions on matters of relevance to the local community.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica is located in central Montenegro. The area is crossed with rivers and the city itself is only north of Lake Skadar. The Morača and Ribnica rivers flow through the city, while the Zeta, Cijevna, Sitnica and Mareza flow nearby. "Morača" is the largest river in the city, being wide near downtown, and having carved a deep canyon for the length of its course through the city. Except for the Morača and Zeta, other rivers have an appearance of small creeks. The richness in bodies of water is a major feature of the city.


title: Podgorica

text: In contrast to most of Montenegro, Podgorica lies in a mainly flat area at the northern end of the Zeta plain, at an elevation of . The only exceptions are hills which overlook the city. The most significant is high Gorica Hill (), city's namesake, which rises above the city centre. The other hills include "Malo brdo" ("little hill", ), "Velje brdo" ("big hill", ), Ljubović () and "Dajbapska gora" ().


title: Podgorica

text: Under the Köppen climate classification, Podgorica is transitional between a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa") and a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ("Csa"), since the driest summer month gets slightly less than of precipitation, with summer highs around and winter highs around . Although the city is only some north of the Adriatic Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean, Mount Rumija acts as a natural barrier, separating Skadar Lake basin and Podgorica area from the sea, thus limiting temperate maritime influence on the local climate.


title: Podgorica

text: The mean annual rainfall is , making Podgorica by far the wettest capital in Europe, Ljubljana being second with . The temperature exceeds on about 135 days each year and the median daily temperature is . The number of rainy days is about 120, and those with a strong wind around 60. An occasional strong northerly wind influences the climate in the winter, with a wind chill effect lowering the perceived temperature by a few degrees.


title: Podgorica

text: The all-time maximum snowfall record was beaten on 11 February 2012, when of snowfall were measured. Before that, the biggest snowfall in Podgorica was in 1954, when of snowfall was recorded. Maximum temperature was recorded on 24 August 2007, at , while all time minimum was , on 4 February 1956.


title: Podgorica

text: Although medium-sized by European standards, Podgorica is by far the largest city in Montenegro: almost a quarter of Montenegrin citizens live there. According to the 2011 census, there are 185,937 people in Podgorica Capital City, which is analogous to the metropolitan area, and includes the small towns of Tuzi and Golubovci, while 150,977 people live within the city proper.


title: Podgorica

text: Out of the total population of Podgorica 48.73% are male and 51.27% are female. The average age of the population is 35.7.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica is home to three main religious groups: Orthodox Christians, Sunni Muslims and Catholic Christians.


title: Podgorica

text: The Orthodox Christian population mostly originates from the local Montenegrin and Serb population, which accepted Orthodox Christianity in Middle Ages after a major split during The Great Schism. They represent the major religious group. There are various Eastern Orthodox churches in the city including St. George Church which originates from the 13th century, and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ which is the largest church in the city to have been recently erected.


title: Podgorica

text: The Muslim population mostly originates from local Bosniaks, as well as Albanians. There are several mosques in Podgorica.


title: Podgorica

text: The Catholic population mainly consists of the local Albanian minority. The main religious site for the Catholic population located in the Konik neighbourhood is the Church of the Holy Heart of Jesus constructed in 1966, in Brutalist style which makes this object unique. Other Catholic churches are located in eastern suburb Tuzi.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica is not only the administrative center of Montenegro but also its main economic engine. Most of Montenegro's industrial, financial, and commercial base is in Podgorica.


title: Podgorica

text: Before World War I, most of Podgorica's economy was in trade and small-scale manufacturing, which was an economic model established during the long rule of the Ottoman Empire. After World War II, Podgorica became Montenegro's capital and a focus of the rapid urbanization and industrialization of the SFRY era. Industries such as aluminium and tobacco processing, textiles, engineering, vehicle production, and wine production were established in and around the city. In 1981, Podgorica's GDP per capita was 87% of the Yugoslav average.


title: Podgorica

text: In the early 1990s, the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav wars, and the UN-imposed sanctions left Podgorica's industries without traditional markets, suppliers, and available funds. This, combined with typical transition pressures, led to a decline of the industrial base, where many industries collapsed leaving thousands of citizens unemployed. However, some of the industries, including Plantaže, managed to survive the turmoil of the 1990s, and are still major contributors to Montenegrin export and industrial output to this day.


title: Podgorica

text: As Montenegro began its push for independence from Serbia in the late 1990s, Podgorica greatly benefited from the increased concentration of government and service sectors. In addition to almost the entire country's government, Podgorica is home to the Montenegro Stock Exchange and other major Montenegrin financial institutions, along with telecommunications carriers, media outlets, Montenegrin flag carrier airline, and other significant institutions and companies.


title: Podgorica

text: The large presence of government and service sectors spared the economy of Podgorica from prolonged stagnation in the late 2000s recession, which hit Montenegro hard. Although in mid-2014, some 30% of Montenegro's citizens lived in Podgorica, the municipality accounted for 44% of the country's employed. Out of the entire mass of paid net salaries in Montenegro in that year, some 47% was paid in Podgorica. The average monthly net salary in December 2021 was €537 in Podgorica municipality.


title: Podgorica

text: Further cultural and historic monuments in and around Podgorica are Sahat-kula Adzi-pasa Osmanagica, the ruins of the Ribnica fortress, remnants of the city of Doclea, Stara Varoš, and Vezirov. Podgorica has excellent transit connections with other centres.


title: Podgorica

text: At nine kilometres from the city is the International Airport, with railway and bus stations close to one another.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica is the media hub of Montenegro. It is home to the headquarters of the state-owned public television broadcaster RTCG. Commercial broadcasters in Podgorica include RTV A1, TV Vijesti, Nova M, Gradska TV and Prva TV. It was announced that the city's local television will be launched soon. Their programmes can be received in much of Montenegro.


title: Podgorica

text: All Montenegro's daily newspapers (oldest Montenegrin daily newspaper "Pobjeda", "Vijesti", "Dnevne Novine" and "Dan") are published in Podgorica.


title: Podgorica

text: Public transport in Podgorica consists of 11 urban and 16 suburban bus lines. The city-owned "AD Gradski saobraćaj" public transport company used to be the sole bus operator until the 1990s, when private carriers were introduced. The company went bankrupt in 2001, and buses were since operated solely by private carriers.


title: Podgorica

text: Public transport faces competition from very popular dispatched taxi services. De-regulation and stiff competition have made taxi services very affordable. Over 20 taxi companies are operating in Podgorica with close to 800 vehicles in service. Usually, taxi companies provide a high level of service, with relatively new and uniform car fleets and GPS-tracked vehicles.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica's location in central Montenegro makes it a natural hub for rail and road transport. Roads in Montenegro (especially those connecting Podgorica to northern Montenegro and Serbia) are usually inferior to modern European roads. Both major Montenegrin motorway projects, Bar-Boljare motorway and Nudo–Božaj motorway, will pass near Podgorica. The first phase of newly constructed motorway A-1 (Bar-Boljari) will be open on July 13. 2022. The newly built Sozina tunnel (4.2 km) shortened the journey from Podgorica to Bar (Montenegro's main seaport) to under 30 minutes. Also, a new road bypass has been constructed in 2011, to remove transport routes from north to south of the country, out of the city center. A south-western bypass has also been planned , with the same goal of moving heavy transport out of the city core. Podgorica is also characteristic of its extensive network of multi-lane boulevards which make inner-city transport quick and effective. Traffic over the Morača River also goes fluently since river banks are very well connected with 6 vehicular and 3 pedestrian bridges.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica is a hub of the X-shaped Montenegrin rail network. The Belgrade–Bar line converges with the line to Nikšić and line to Shkodër at the Podgorica Rail Station. The station itself is located to the southeast of the main city square. Podgorica's main railway link (for both passenger and freight traffic) is Belgrade–Bar. The link to Nikšić was recently under reconstruction (electrification); afterwards, passenger service started in October 2012. The rail link to Shkodër is used as freight-only.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica Airport is located in Zeta Plain, south of Podgorica City centre, and is Montenegro's main international airport. The airport is locally known as Golubovci Airport (Аеродром Голубовци / Aerodrom Golubovci), as it is located within the administrative boundaries of the town of Golubovci. The IATA code of the airport is still TGD because Podgorica was named Titograd, during which time the airport opened. It is the main hub for Air Montenegro and Di Air.


title: Podgorica

text: Most of Montenegro's higher education establishments are in Podgorica including the University of Montenegro, the country's most significant university. The university has the following faculties:


title: Podgorica

text: The university's scientific research institutes are also in the Podgorica: Institute of Foreign Languages, Institute of Biotechnology and the Institute of History


title: Podgorica

text: The Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts (CANU) is in Podgorica, as well as the parallel scholars' academy DANU.


title: Podgorica

text: There are a number of private institutions for higher education including the Mediterranean University which was founded in 2006 as the first private university in Montenegro and the University of Donja Gorica. The municipality of Podgorica has 34 elementary schools and 10 secondary schools, including one gymnasium. The first secondary school established in Podgorica is Gymnasium "Slobodan Škerović" which first opened in 1907. The rebuilt economic high school offers new features and higher quality education. The "Radosav Ljumović National Library" is considered the most comprehensive in Montenegro.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica is home to many Montenegrin cultural institutions and events. It hosts the Montenegrin National Theatre and a number of museums and galleries. The Montenegrin National Theatre is the most significant theatre not only in Podgorica but in all of Montenegro. Podgorica is also host to the City Theatre ("Gradsko pozorište"), which includes the Children's Theatre and the Puppet Theatre. Although not as rich in museums and galleries as the historic royal capital Cetinje, there are several noteworthy museums:


title: Podgorica

text: There is a notable art gallery in the "Dvorak" "Petrovića" (Petrović Castle) complex in Podgorica's largest public park. King Nicholas's castle, "Perjanički Dom" (House of the Honour Guard), castle chapel and surrounding buildings were converted to an art gallery in 1984. Since 1995, it has been part of the Modern Arts Centre ("Centar savremenih umjetnosti") and houses approximately 1,500 works of art. The historic Cinema of Culture ("Kino Kultura"), which was founded in 1949, was closed in November 2008 due to continuous financial losses it generated. It was the only cinema in the city for 6 decades. The building of the former cinema will be converted to host the Podgorica City Theatre. Shortly after its closure, a Ster-Kinekor (later acquired by Cineplexx) 6-screen multiplex cinema opened at BIG Podgorica shopping mall.


title: Podgorica

text: A significant cultural institution of over fifty years' standing is the Budo Tomović Cultural-Informational Centre ("KIC Budo Tomović"). It is a public institution that organizes various artistic events, including Podgorica Cultural Summer ("Podgoričko Kulturno Ljeto"), FIAT – International Alternative Theatre Festival ("Festival Internacionalnog Alternativnog Teatra"), DEUS – December Arts Scene ("Decembarska Umjetnička Scena").


title: Podgorica

text: The most popular sports by far are football and basketball. Basketball became especially popular with the success in the late 20th and early 21st centuries of KK Budućnost, both in Regional and European competitions.


title: Podgorica

text: Football in Podgorica has a long tradition associated with Budućnost. World-famous players Predrag Mijatović and Dejan Savićević were born in Podgorica and made their debut in that team. The club FK Zeta from the Podgorica suburb of Golubovci has also reached the former first league of Serbia and Montenegro. These clubs, along with Sutjeska from Nikšić, usually compete with each other for leading position in the First League of Montenegro.


title: Podgorica

text: Other clubs from Podgorica and its surroundings play in the Montenegrin First League e.g. OFK Titograd & Kom. One of the most popular clubs from the suburbs is FK Ribnica from Konik, FK Zabjelo from Zabjelo and FK Podgorica from "Donja Gorica".


title: Podgorica

text: The volleyball team OK Budućnost and the women's handball team ŽRK Budućnost T-Mobile have had significant success in European competition. Budućnost Podgorica is the most important sports club in Podgorica. Its name means "Future".


title: Podgorica

text: Chess is another popular sport and some famous global chess players, like Slavko Dedić, are born in Podgorica.


title: Podgorica

text: Sporting events like the annual Podgorica Marathon, Coinis no limits Triathlon, and the "Morača River" jumps attract international competitors.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica has a number of sporting venues; some are under reconstruction and expansion. The main ones are:


title: Podgorica

text: Almost every football club in Podgorica has its own stadium, although these are often only fields with small stands or no stands at all.


title: Podgorica

text: Other notable venues are the Stadion malih sportova under Gorica hill and the sport shooting range under Ljubović hill. There are many other sports facilities around the city, most notably indoor soccer fields.


title: Podgorica

text: Podgorica's mixture of architectural styles reflects the turbulent history of the city and country: as one régime replaced another, the corresponding style was introduced.


title: Podgorica

text: As part of the Ottoman Empire until 1878, Podgorica has some examples of Ottoman architecture. The oldest parts of the city, "Stara Varoš" ("Old town") and "Drač" is typical of this, with two mosques, a Turkish Clock Tower and narrow, winding streets.


title: Podgorica

text: When the city was incorporated to Montenegro, the urban core shifted to the other bank of the Ribnica River, where the town developed in a more European style: wider streets with an orthogonal layout. This part of the city is today traditionally regarded as the city center and is called "Nova Varoš" ("New town").


title: Podgorica

text: During World War II, Podgorica was almost razed to the ground, being bombed over 80 times. After liberation, rebuilding began as in other cities of the communist-ruled SFRY. Mass residential blocks were erected, with basic design typical of Eastern bloc countries. All that part of the city on the right bank of the Morača River was built this way.


title: Podgorica

text: The main contemporary traffic arteries were laid out during this period, which extended the orthogonal street layout of the city center, to the south and west. Residential and infrastructural developments in the SFRY era have mostly shaped the layout of today's Podgorica and accommodated the unprecedented population growth that followed World War II.


title: Podgorica

text: A major advance in Podgorica architecture began in the late 1990s and, since then, the face of the city has changed rapidly. Residential and business construction are proceeding rapidly, incorporating contemporary glass-and-steel architectural trends. In an effort to create a recognizable and modern state capital, city officials are routing significant investments in the city's public spaces. Thus, the city has gained entirely new squares and some monuments. New landmarks include the "Hristovog Vaskrsenja" orthodox temple and the Millennium Bridge, the main feature of the Podgorica skyline.


title: Podgorica

text: Below are some of the most notable people who were either born or spent most of their lives in Podgorica:


title: Bowie knife

text: A Bowie knife ( ) is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother Jim Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight.


title: Bowie knife

text: Since the first incarnation, the Bowie knife has come to incorporate several recognizable and characteristic design features, although in common usage the term refers to any large sheath knife with a crossguard and a clip point. The knife pattern is still popular with collectors; in addition to various knife manufacturing companies there are hundreds of custom knife makers producing Bowie knives with different types of steel and variations.


title: Bowie knife

text: The early history of the Bowie knife is complicated by murky definitions, limited supporting documentation, and conflicting claims. The Bowie knife is not well defined. By the mid-20th century most included some combination of blade length and blade shape. In the mid-19th century, when the popularity of the knife was at its peak, the term was applied to a wide range of blades. Absent a consensus definition, it is impossible to clearly define the origin of the knife. To complicate matters, some American blades that meet the modern definition of the Bowie knife may pre-date Bowie.


title: Bowie knife

text: The Bowie knife derives part of its name and reputation from James Bowie, a notorious knife fighter, who died at the Battle of the Alamo. James Bowie left a very thin paper trail; in the absence of verifiable facts, his history was buried in unverifiable knife-fighting legend. Historians seriously entertain the possibility that Bowie fought only one personal knife fight (and, if Rezin Bowie's account is true, that fight was not fought with a blade meeting the modern definition). That Sandbar Fight received national publicity (accounts in Philadelphia, New York, and the "Niles' Register" of Washington, D.C.) within months of the event. James Bowie prominently wore a large knife after the Sandbar fight.


title: Bowie knife

text: The Bowie family provided a variety of conflicting knife histories. James Bowie left nothing. His brother Rezin Bowie provided a terse history two years after James' death. Sixteen years after James' death someone (assumed to be James' brother John) slightly amended Rezin's explanation to include a blacksmith. Rezin's grandchildren named a different blacksmith. A later Bowie claimed that the information attributed to John was a lie and that John probably never saw the document, etc.


title: Bowie knife

text: In the mid-20th century, a Bowie knife book author took liberties with the historical facts. Some documents were misquoted, some reported facts cannot be confirmed, etc. Others incorporated the errors into their accounts of both Bowie and his knives.


title: Bowie knife

text: With no solid definition and conflicting accounts of knife history, many were credited with the invention or improvement of the blade.


title: Bowie knife

text: The historical Bowie knife was not a single design but was a series of knives improved several times by Jim Bowie over the years. The earliest such knife, made by Jesse Clift at Bowie's brother Rezin's request resembled Spanish hunting knives of the day, and differed little from a common butcher knife. The blade, as later described by Rezin Bowie, was long, thick and wide. It was straight-backed, described by witnesses as "a large butcher knife", and having no clip-point nor any handguard, with a simple riveted wood scale handle.


title: Bowie knife

text: Bernard Levine has reported that the first known Bowie knife showed a strong Mediterranean influence insofar as general lines were concerned, particularly the shape of the traditional Spanish folding knife, then often carried by immigrants to Mexico and other territories of the Old Southwest. In an 1828 account of the capture of a pirate schooner carrying a mixed group of Spanish and South American pirates, the carrying of knives similar to the early Bowie knife is mentioned:


title: Bowie knife

text: After the Vidalia Sandbar fight, Bowie was a famous man, and the Bowie brothers received many requests for knives of the same design. Bowie and his brothers later commissioned more ornate custom blades from various knife makers including Daniel Searles and John Constable. George William Featherstonhaugh described them as, "These formidable instruments ... are the pride of an Arkansas blood, and got their name of Bowie knives from a conspicuous person of this fiery climate."


title: Bowie knife

text: According to an 1847 article, the Bowie knife was originally designed to fill the need for a wearable, convenient, close-combat weapon - a short sword much shorter than the saber or other swords of the day, yet still possessing a heavy blade. This cleaver-like blade had enough weight to give the blade sufficient force in a slashing attack while permitting the use of cut-and-thrust sword fighting tactics. By this time the 'Bowie knife' was already being made in a variety of sizes, with the optimum blade length similar to "that of a carving knife". The blade design was described as:


title: Bowie knife

text: Most later versions of the Bowie knife had a blade of at least in length, some reaching or more, with a relatively broad blade that was wide and made of steel usually between thick. The back of the blade sometimes had a strip of soft metal (normally brass or copper) inlaid which some believe was intended to catch an opponent's blade while others hold it was intended to provide support and absorb shock to help prevent breaking of poor quality steel or poorly heat-treated blades. (A brass back is an indication of modern construction.) Bowie knives often had an upper guard that bent forward at an angle (an S-guard) intended to catch an opponent's blade or provide protection to the owner's hand during parries and corps-a-corps.


title: Bowie knife

text: Some Bowie knives had a notch on the bottom of the blade near the hilt known as a "Spanish Notch". The Spanish Notch is often cited as a mechanism for catching an opponent's blade; however, some Bowie researchers hold that the Spanish Notch is ill-suited to this function and frequently fails to achieve the desired results. These researchers, instead, hold that the Spanish Notch has the much more mundane function as a tool for stripping sinew and repairing rope and nets, as a guide to assist in sharpening the blade (assuring that the sharpening process starts at a specific point and not further up the edge), or as a point to relieve stress on the blade during use.


title: Bowie knife

text: One characteristic of Bowie knives is the clip point at the top of the blade, which brings the tip of the blade lower than the spine and in line with the handle for better control during thrusting attacks. As the goal is to produce a sharp, stabbing point, most Bowie knives have a bevel ground along the clip, typically 1/4 of the way, but sometimes much further running the entire top-edge. This is referred to as a false edge as from a distance it looks sharpened, although it may or may not be. Regardless of whether or not the false edge is sharp, it serves to take metal away from the point, streamlining the tip and thus enhancing the penetration capability of the blade during a stab. The version attributed to blacksmith James Black had this false edge fully sharpened in order to allow someone trained in European techniques of saber fencing to execute the maneuver called the "back cut" or "back slash". A brass quillon, usually cast in a mold, was attached to protect the hand.


title: Bowie knife

text: The Bowie knife's design also lends itself to use as a hunting knife for skinning or butchering game. The curved top clip bevel of the blade, when suitably sharpened, may be used to remove the skin from a carcass, while the straight portion of the blade edge, toward the guard, can be used for cutting meat. Arkansas culturalist and researcher Russell T. Johnson describes the James Black knife in the following manner and at the same time captures the quintessence of the Bowie Knife: "It must be long enough to use as a sword, sharp enough to use as a razor, wide enough to use as a paddle, and heavy enough to use as a hatchet." Most such knives intended for hunting are only sharpened on one edge, to reduce the danger of cutting oneself while butchering and skinning the carcass.


title: Bowie knife

text: The first knife, with which Bowie became famous, allegedly was designed by Jim Bowie's brother Rezin in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana and smithed by blacksmith Jesse Clifft out of an old file. Period court documents indicate that Rezin Bowie and Clifft were well acquainted with one another. Rezin's granddaughter claimed in an 1885 letter to Louisiana State University that her mother (Rezin's daughter) personally witnessed Clifft make the knife for her father.


title: Bowie knife

text: This knife became famous as the knife used by Bowie at the Sandbar Fight, a famous 1827 duel between Bowie and several men including a Major Norris Wright of Alexandria, Louisiana. The fight took place on a sandbar in the Mississippi River across from Natchez, Mississippi, and is the only documented fight in which Bowie was known to have employed his Bowie knife design. In this battle, Bowie was stabbed, shot, and beaten half to death but managed to win the fight using the large knife.


title: Bowie knife

text: Jim Bowie's older brother John later claimed that the knife at the Sandbar Fight was not Clifft's knife, but a knife specifically made for Bowie by a blacksmith named Snowden.


title: Bowie knife

text: The most famous version of the Bowie knife was designed by Jim Bowie and presented to Arkansas blacksmith James Black in the form of a carved wooden model in December 1830. Black produced the knife ordered by Bowie, and at the same time created another based on Bowie's original design but with a sharpened edge on the curved top edge of the blade. Black offered Bowie his choice and Bowie chose the modified version. Knives such as this, with a blade shaped like that of the Bowie knife, but with a pronounced false edge, are today called "Sheffield Bowie" knives, because this blade shape became so popular that cutlery factories in Sheffield, England were mass-producing such knives for export to the U.S. by 1850, usually with a handle made from either hardwood, deer antler, or bone, and sometimes with a guard and other fittings of sterling silver. The James Black Bowie knife had a blade approximately long, wide, and thick. The spine of the knife was covered with soft brass or silver, reportedly to catch the opponent's blade in the course of a knife fight, while a brass quillion protected the hand from the blade.


title: Bowie knife

text: In 1831 Bowie returned with his James Black Bowie knife to Texas, and was involved in a knife fight with three men armed with firearms, who had been hired to kill him by the man he had spared in his 1829 fight. According to reports of the time, Bowie used his knife to kill all three men: one assassin was nearly decapitated, the second was disemboweled, and the skull of the third man was split open. Bowie died at the Battle of the Alamo five years later and in death both he and his knife became an American legend. The fate of the original Bowie knife is unknown; however, a knife bearing the engraving "Bowie No. 1" has been acquired by the Historic Arkansas Museum from a Texas collector and has been attributed to Black through scientific analysis.


title: Bowie knife

text: Black soon had a booming business making and selling these knives out of his shop in Washington, Arkansas. Black continued to refine his technique and improve the quality of the knife as he went. In 1839, shortly after his wife's death, Black was nearly blinded when, while he was in bed with illness, his father-in-law and former partner broke into his home and attacked him with a club, having objected to his daughter having married Black years earlier. Black was no longer able to continue in his trade.


title: Bowie knife

text: Black's knives were known to be exceedingly tough, yet flexible, and his technique has not been duplicated. Black kept his technique secret and did all of his work behind a leather curtain. Many claim that Black rediscovered the secret of producing true Damascus steel.


title: Bowie knife

text: In 1870, at the age of 70, Black attempted to pass on his secret to the son of the family that had cared for him in his old age, Daniel Webster Jones. However, Black had been retired for many years and found that he himself had forgotten the secret. Jones would later become Governor of Arkansas.


title: Bowie knife

text: The claims regarding James Black and his knives have been challenged by historians and knife experts. Little can be either proven or disproven; Black was found mentally incompetent before his claims were published.


title: Bowie knife

text: The birthplace of the Bowie knife is now part of the Old Washington Historic State Park which has over 40 restored historical buildings and other facilities including Black's shop. The park is known as "The Colonial Williamsburg of Arkansas". The University of Arkansas Hope - Texarkana opened their James Black School of Bladesmithing and Historic Trades in historic Washington in January 2020.


title: Bowie knife

text: The term "Bowie knife" appeared in advertising (multiple places) by 1835, about 8 years after the sandbar brawl, while James Bowie was still alive. From context, "Bowie knife" needed no description then, but the spelling was variable. Among the first mentions was a plan to combine a Bowie knife and pistol. Cutlers were shipping sheath knives from Sheffield England by the early 1830s. By 1838 a writer in a Baltimore newspaper (posted from New Orleans) suggested that every reader had seen a Bowie knife.


title: Bowie knife

text: The Bowie knife found its greatest popularity in the Old Southwest of the mid-19th century. However, accounts of Bowie knife fighting schools are based on fiction; newspapers of the era in the region contained advertisements for classes in fencing and self-defense.


title: Bowie knife

text: Bowie knives had a role in the American conflicts of the nineteenth century. They are historically mentioned in the independence of Texas, in the Mexican War, the California gold rush, the civil strife in Kansas, the Civil War and later conflicts with the American Indians. John Brown (abolitionist) carried a Bowie (which was taken by J. E. B. Stuart). (p 117) John Wilkes Booth (assassin of Abraham Lincoln) dropped a large Bowie knife as he escaped. (p 158) "Buffalo Bill" Cody "reportedly" scalped a sub-chief in 1876 in revenge for Custer (the Battle of Warbonnet Creek). An illustration of the reputed event showed a Bowie knife. (p 171) Brigham Young, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), used to carry a Bowie knife with him, and dreamed about killing ex-Mormon apostates with it; for this reason, it has a significance to the DezNat (alt-right LDS) community online, who link it to the concept of blood atonement in Mormonism.


title: Bowie knife

text: With the advent of affordably priced, reliable black-powder revolvers in the US (including surplus ex-Civil war handguns), the popularity of the Bowie knife declined sharply after 1865. While still quite popular, newer Bowie designs began to incorporate much shorter blades of seven or eight inches, a length more suited to butchering and skinning game animals. By the turn of the century, the most mass-produced Bowies were being sold as all-purpose outdoor hunting/camping knives. Despite this, the Bowie still retained its ability to serve as a close-in fighting knife. The USMC Ka-Bar of World War II fame is based on a Bowie design dating back to the classic Marbles Ideal camping/hunting knife first introduced in 1899.


title: Bowie knife

text: Since the 1960s, Bowie knives with sawteeth machined into the back side of the blade appeared inspired by the United States Air Force survival knife which is used by several branches of the US Armed Forces. Each knife is manufactured in accordance with US Government specifications. It features a 5" 1095 carbon steel clip point sawback blade with a swedge, false top edge and fullers. The handle is made from natural leather with a stainless steel butt cap. The included natural leather sheath comes with a whetstone and leg tie. The sawteeth were intended to cut through the plexiglass canopy of a downed aircraft. Shortly after similar knives with a metal hollow handle appeared allowing small survival items to be stored inside the handle. Bowies are still popular to this day as evidenced by the plethora of factory-made and custom-made bowie-style knives available to sportsmen and collectors.


title: Bowie knife

text: Jim Bowie was posthumously inducted into the "Blade" magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1988 Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia in recognition of the impact that his design made upon generations of knife makers and cutlery companies.


title: Bowie knife

text: Custom knife maker Ernest Emerson originally used a Bowie knife in his logo and manufactures a folding Bowie known in his line-up as the CQC13.


title: Bowie knife

text: A Bowie knife appears on the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.


title: Bowie knife

text: From the mid-1800s to the early 1900s the Alfred Williams EBRO Bowie knife became a big seller in the USA.


title: Bowie knife

text: Alfred Williams specialized in selling knives to the USA market, and as such, his knives destined for the US market bore the EBRO importer stamp on them along with Alfred Williams’ name. Original Alfred Williams Bowie knives now sell for substantial amounts in auction. One unique Alfred Williams Bowie knife with a carved handle that belonged to a Texan family sold for $60,000 in auction.


title: Bowie knife

text: Among the many variations on Bowie knives (discussed or shown by Flayderman or Peterson) are Bowies with interchangeable blades, push daggers, double-ended Bowies, folding Bowies, Bowies with a cork screw or other accessories, Bowie bayonets, combination Bowie/pistols, a Bowie with a saw-toothed back and Confederate Bowies with D-guards. Some were works of fine art. A giant folding Bowie, almost in length and weighing was made for presentation to an American congressman who "offered" to engage in a knife duel (a dispute between Roger Atkinson Pryor and John F. Potter). A few huge Bowies up to long were created for exhibition.


title: Bowie knife

text: Over the years many knives have been called Bowie knives and the term has almost become a generic term for any large sheath knife. During the early days of the American Civil War Confederate soldiers carried immense knives called D-Guard Bowie knives. Many of these knives could have qualified as short swords and were often made from old saw or scythe blades.


title: Bowie knife

text: The Bowie knife is sometimes confused with the "Arkansas toothpick," possibly due to the interchangeable use of the names "Arkansas toothpick", "Bowie knife", and "Arkansas knife" in the antebellum period. The Arkansas toothpick is essentially a heavy dagger with a straight blade. While balanced and weighted for throwing, the toothpick can be used for thrusting and slashing. Although James Black is popularly credited with inventing the "Arkansas Toothpick", no firm evidence exists for this claim.


title: Bowie knife

text: Knives made in Sheffield, England, were quick to enter the market with "Bowie Knives" of a distinctive pattern that most modern users identify with the true form Bowie. The Sheffield pattern blade is thinner than the Black/Musso knives, while the false edge is often longer, with a more oblique and less pronounced clip edge. While the Bowie is often considered a uniquely American knife, most blades were produced in Sheffield England. Sheffield Bowies were sold with a wide range of etched or stamped slogans designed to appeal to Americans: "Death to Abolition", "Death to Traitors", "Americans Never Surrender", "Alabama Hunting Knife", "Arkansas Toothpick", "Gold Seeker's Protection"... American victories and generals were commemorated. "Bowie Knife" is etched on many different designs (including folding knives) of the era. The British disguised the origin of their products, operating the "Washington", "Philadelphia", "Boston", "Manhattan", "America" and "Columbia Works" in Sheffield. They stamped "US", "NY", etc. on their blades. The Sheffield "factories" were warehouses that collected the work of area craftsmen. The smelters, forgers, grinders, silversmiths, carvers, etchers ... were individuals or small businesses.


title: Bowie knife

text: During the late 19th and 20th centuries, the Bowie knife served usefully as a camp and hunting tool, as well as a weapon, and is still popular with some hunters and trappers in the present day. However, as today's campers and backpackers generally rely on prepared lightweight foods, and have little or no use for a large knife as a weapon or for butchering wild game animals, the traditional Bowie pattern knife is today mostly purchased by collectors or edged weapon enthusiasts.


title: Bowie knife

text: The Bowie remains popular with collectors. In addition to various knife manufacturing companies there are hundreds of custom knife makers and bladesmiths producing Bowies and variations. The Bowie knife dominates the work produced by members of the American Bladesmith Society. Collecting antique Bowie knives is one of the higher-end forms of knife collecting with rare models selling as high as $200,000. Even mass-produced Sheffield Bowies from the 19th century can sell in the range of $5,000US to $15,000US.


title: Bowie knife

text: The Bowie knife has been present in popular culture throughout the ages, ranging from the days of the Western dime novels and pulps to Literary Fiction such as the 1897 classic vampire novel "Dracula" by Irish author Bram Stoker. Despite the popular image of Count Dracula having a stake driven through his heart at the conclusion of the story, Dracula is actually killed by his heart being pierced by Quincey Morris's Bowie knife and his throat being sliced by Jonathan Harker's kukri knife. Bowie knives appeared in the classic works of Americans Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain, Englishman Charles Dickens, and Frenchman Jules Verne.