An Undergraduate Module in Designing Medical Devices with Autodesk® Design Suites

Transformation of engineering education has been a recent concern in the education and industry communities, with a call to integrate "science" and "application" through design. With health topping today’s issues, design of medical devices has become a major candidate for design applications to be taught to engineering undergraduates. This class describes the preparation and the delivery of an education module where rigorous subjects such as kinematics and strength of materials are taught in the context of designing medical devices. Autodesk® ForceEffect™ and Autodesk® ForceEffect™ Motion software are used to introduce concepts such as force and moment, and Autodesk® Inventor® Professional software is used to develop, simulate, and manufacture the devices designed by the students. This class covers a general design concept, followed by a case study that details design of a tissue microarrayer. This approach, due to its contextual nature, is also applicable to industry training centers.