A Way Forward

One of the emerging concepts in the field of biomedical engineering is the ‘Bedside-Bench-Bedside’ concept. The development of any new biomaterials/tissue engineered product/translational approach should be driven by the patient’s need. The specific need to treat a specific disease should trigger the cascade of research activities at the labscale (‘bench’ work), which should involve material fabrication followed by in vitro and in vivo biological property assessment of a select group of implants. The final stage of taking the scientific research related to device/implant development to a patient’s bedside requires clinical trials, regulatory approval and product commercialization. In the above backdrop, this chapter summarises the author’s perspective on some of the issues relevant to the ‘Bedside-Bench-Bedside’ concept together with the smart and innovative design concepts of bone tissue engineering.