This textbook, written at an introductory level, covers a broad range of topics related to biomaterials from general materials science, biocompatibility, medical devices including drug-device combination devices to industrial infrastructure. The book also presents an introduction to the ongoing research on regenerative medicine, nanomaterials, etc. The writing style, depth, and balance between pure science and applications are consistent throughout the book. There are study problems at the end of each chapter—many of them are open-ended and suitable for students to use as homework projects.

One of the highlights is the discussion of biocompatibility. It starts from products and their interactions with tissues. Biocompatibility is not a simple reaction of the tissues to materials, components, or similar products. It deals with specific reactions of biological systems to the products that are made of the specific materials, in specific processes, and used in specific ways. In this book, the author uses examples of devices to describe physical, chemical, mechanical, and other possible interactions between medical devices and tissues. The causes and consequences of toxicity, inflammation, infection, immune response, and long-term reactions are discussed.

Introduction to medical devices is another highlight, which makes the discussion of biomaterials more relevant to their end use. The coverage is extensive, including orthopedic, cardiovascular, central nervous systems, eyes, ears, and other main organs and systems. Each section starts with a brief introduction to the diseases, followed by a description of the devices, their working principles, and device-biological interactions. Most of the devices discussed in the chapter have been approved by the regulatory agencies for treating the diseases of patients. History of the development is presented. Major failure mechanisms are discussed. This not only serves as examples to illustrate how materials are used in medical devices, but also describes how materials and devices, interact with biological systems in real applications.

The references are key publications in the field and up to date. The tables, figures, and in-box descriptions are valuable for readers to understand the content. This is one of the few books that I can highly recommend to college students, researchers, and engineers in the field as a desktop reference.

Reviewer: SuPing Lyuis a Principal Researcher at Medtronic Inc., Mounds View, Minn., USA.