Mechanical & Industrial Engrg 687 - Practical Med Device Design

Imaging scanners used for disease diagnosis, robots used for surgical procedures and implantable defibrillators that continuously function inside a patient for years are all examples of instruments classified as medical devices by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Despite staggering differences in their end application, working principles and construction, these medical devices are all developed following a common design process established with guidance from the FDA and the standards organization such as the ISO. The crucial difference between medical device design and engineering design lies in the need to ensure patient safety by anticipating and minimizing the impact of failure. In prior courses you may have performed parametric or rule-based design of mechanical components and selected optimal configuration of components by examining engineering trade-offs. The emphasis of this course will be on the design process, along with documentation and other procedures that underly commercial medical device development, essential for regulatory approval.

Open to graduate Mechanical Engineering majors. Instructor permission is otherwise required to be enrolled.