Prof. dr. ir. Goossens, R.H.M.

Richard Goossens is professor of Physical Ergonomics at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering. The emphasis of his research is on ergonomics / human factors in relation to product innovation in order to establish safe, comfortable and error-free task fulfilment in complex multi-user situations in a medical setting. The goal is to generate design requirements, methods and product(services). The requirements should anticipate the implementation of these products on a large scale and daily use.

Academic Background

After obtaining a master degree in Mechanical Engineering (specialism Robotics) in 1989, Richard Goossens got his PhD in Biomechanics of Body support in 1994. His drive is his passion about the connection between healthcare and design, therefore he established the master track 'Medisign' in 1996. In 2009 he became a full professor Physical Ergonomics, and in 2012 he was appointed a Medical Delta professor (with an extra appointment in Erasmus Medical Center). From 2017 onwards he is the Chair of the Delft Health Initiative with its mission to bring together researchers involved in health research and innovation, in order to focus TU Delft expertise and contribute to pioneering health technologies within relevant (inter)national research programs.

Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, February 1994, Biomedical Engineering, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    - Dissertation: Biomechanics of body support.
    - Research Director: Professor Chris J. Snijders
  • Master of Science, May 1989, Mechanical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
    - Area of Emphasis: Robotics

Experience

  • 2009 â€“ Present
    Full Professor of Physical Ergonomics, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology
    • 2015 – present
      Head of the department Industrial Design (105 staff, 50 PhD’s) 
    • 2015 – present
      Member of the management team Faculty Industrial Design Engineering
    • 2011 – present
      Head of the section Applied Ergonomics and Design (30 staff, 15 PhD’s)
    • Founder and Coordinator Medisign program - 600 alumni, 2nd/3rd money stream: 4.6 Meuro
  • 2012 â€“ Present
    Medical Delta Professor
  • 2010 – 2014
    Part-time Professor Physical Ergonomics, Erasmus Medical Center, Department of Neuroscience
  • 2009 – Present
    Member of the Delft Health Initiative, Chair since April 2017
  • 2004 – 2012
    Honorary Lecturer in The School of Health Care Professions, University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom
  • 2001 – 2009
    Associate professor, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology
  • 1996 – 2001
    Assistant professor, Faculty of Design, Engineering and Production, Subfaculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology
  • 1989 – 1996
    Scientific researcher, Erasmus University Rotterdam
  • 1988 â€“ 1989
    Robotic Engineer Specialist, Holec Instruments, Hengelo 

Specialisation / field of research

The focus of the research is on the physical human factors during professional product use. The emphasis is on research of ergonomics in relation to product development in order to establish safe, comfortable and error-free task fulfilment in complex multi-user situations in a medical setting. The goal is to generate design requirements, methods and products. The requirements should anticipate the implementation of these products on a large scale and daily use.
This is done by obtaining insight in physical user aspects, such as anatomy, biomechanics, anthropometry and physiology in order to understand the underlying medical aspects of user complaints. These insights form the basis for biomechanical modelling and verification experiments on various user groups. Once scientifically validated, the acquired knowledge is transformed in engineering recommendations and products, which themselves can be evaluated as well.
An ongoing project on safety is the design of a set of products that provide an optimal human-product interaction necessary to guarantee high quality in surgical performance; this is realized in the project: Surgeon’s Cockpit (SC).
To develop the Surgeon’s Cockpit seven PhD-projects are defined. Six of these projects already started in 2002 (Albayrak), 2005 (Buzink, Jalote and Wauben), 2006 (Westebring-van de Putten) 2007 (Vonck).
An example of a project on physical ergonomics can be found in the cooperation with the REPAIR group (REsearch Projects for Abdominal surgery Innovation Rotterdam) with the department of Surgery of Erasmus MC. In this project the focus is on understanding the biomechanical behaviour of sutured of the abdomen.

Lectures and/or coaches students on:

  • Ergonomics 1st year, teaching
  • Biomechanics, coordinator
  • Capita Selecta Medisign, coordinator
  • Anatomy for Engineers, coordinator
  • Design of Products in Healthcare, coordinator
  • Graduation projects of MSc-students Industrial Design Engineering, 20 students a year

Secondary employment:

  • Consultancy and product development for body supportive design fields
  • Owner of 'Goossens Ergonomics’
  • Member Supervisory Board EIT Health Belgium-The Netherlands
  • Visiting Professor, School of Design, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China

Involved in the research project(s):