Lutz Lab

Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington

 

VISION - v3.jpgSimple phenomena + clinical need + real-world constraints

As bioengineers we seek to apply scientific understanding to develop technology for improving human health. My work is defined by manipulation of simple physical and biochemical phenomena to create devices for unmet clinical needs, and attention to real-world constraints improves the chances that our work will impact patients. The interplay between science, technology, clinical need, and real-world constraints creates a puzzle that requires a disciplined form of creativity and invention.

My projects follow a typical trajectory: 1) understand the technical deficiencies in biomedical devices, 2) identify physical or biochemical phenomena that could be exploited to address deficiencies, 3) understand the phenomena in detail by comparison of theory to quantitative experiments, and 4) manipulate the phenomena to create improved biomedical devices.