Which area of biomedical engineering focuses on designing artificial organs?

The area of biomedical engineering that focuses on designing artificial organs is tissue engineering. This branch combines principles from biology, engineering, and materials science to develop biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve the function of damaged tissues or organs. Tissue engineering involves creating scaffolds that can support cell growth, integrating cells with these scaffolds, and developing methods to ensure that the engineered tissues can perform functions similar to the original biological tissues.

In contrast, drug development mainly involves the creation and testing of pharmaceuticals, which does not directly pertain to organ design. Imaging technology is focused on the techniques used to visualize the internal structures of the body, helping in diagnosis and treatment, rather than fabricating organs. Bioinformatics deals with the application of computer technology to biological data, often for analyzing genetic information, rather than constructing physiological structures like artificial organs. Thus, tissue engineering is the discipline specifically aimed at the innovation of tangible replacements or enhancements for biological organs.