Biomechatronics for designing bioprocess monitoring and control systems: Application to stem cell production

Stem cell production systems need elaborate monitoring and control for meeting requirements on the final cell product. In this article, the use of biomechatronic design methodology for supporting these efforts is described. Biomechatronic design, which is based on a fundamental systematical design approach originating from mechanical engineering, is here applied for investigating how monitoring and control systems can be configured in stem cell manufacturing processes. Results are provided that demonstrate how the biomechatronic design tools are used to compare different process analytical instrumentation resulting in a design layout for the monitoring system for derivation of hepatocytes from human embryonic stem cells. The results can be extrapolated to other stem cell production processes using the same methodology. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.