Bioengineering Design Methodology

This book teaches readers about the design of bioproducts where technical principles and methods are applied in combination with biological systems, which brings new challenges for design engineering thinking and for training bioengineers. Rapid development within the life-science industry creates a great need for well-educated engineers who can adapt established design methods to the complexity of biological systems. This book shows how the education of engineers can be improved to better match the possibilities of biology, its capabilities, and limitations in an industrial context. The teaching and training methodology described in the book is based on typical industrial perspectives. The application of several established design engineering methodologies and tools are included (e.g., computer-aided design software, economic evaluation, design-of-experiments, mechanistic modeling). Critical questions associated with bio-industrial challenges, changing market conditions, and complexity of biology and biological systems are highlighted. The application cases detailed in the book have previously been carried out with teams of trainees for periods of 3-5 months around assignments created by experts from the life-sciences industry. Experiences from our use of the methodology are described along with advice on evaluating training progress and common training pitfalls. This is an ideal textbook for master students and professionals in (bio)engineering, or bioengineers in industry that need further education and training.