Post by plutronus on Apr 9, 2019 0:51:59 GMT -6
Researchers have developed the first mobile 3D bio-printer that can print directly onto human skin for fast, effective treatment of chronic wounds or other skin ailments.
Design News Magazine
By:
Elizabeth Montalbano
Materials & Assembly
3D Printing, Materials, Medical
March 29, 2019
Elizabeth Montalbano
Materials & Assembly
3D Printing, Materials, Medical
March 29, 2019
Bioprinting—or creating new human skin using print technology—seems like the stuff of science fiction, but scientists have come a long way in using this technology to treat patients with skin disorders or chronic wounds.
Now researchers at Wake Forest University’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine have taken this technology to the next level with the first-of-its-kind mobile skin bioprinting system that allows bi-layered skin to be printed directly into a wound.
Now researchers at Wake Forest University’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine have taken this technology to the next level with the first-of-its-kind mobile skin bioprinting system that allows bi-layered skin to be printed directly into a wound.
At the Patient’s Bedside
What’s unique about the technology is its mobility, which allows the printer to administer wound management at a patient’s bedside, said Sean Murphy, Ph.D., assistant professor of regenerative medicine at the institute, who led the research. “We are using a patient’s own cells to create new skin to heal the wound,” he told Design News. “The mobile aspect allows for delivery of cells directly into wounds, with an organization that replicates healthy skin.”
This direct treatment of a wound “significantly accelerates” its healing as well as the formation of new skin, compared to how bioprinting is typically used today, which is to print skin externally and manually place the tissue onto the patient, Murphy said.
“Currently, skin grafts to treat wounds and burns are the ‘gold standard’ technique, but adequate coverage of wounds is often a challenge particularly when there is limited availability of healthy skin to harvest,” he told us. “Skin grafts from donors are an option, but risk immune rejection of the graft and scar formation.”
This direct treatment of a wound “significantly accelerates” its healing as well as the formation of new skin, compared to how bioprinting is typically used today, which is to print skin externally and manually place the tissue onto the patient, Murphy said.
“Currently, skin grafts to treat wounds and burns are the ‘gold standard’ technique, but adequate coverage of wounds is often a challenge particularly when there is limited availability of healthy skin to harvest,” he told us. “Skin grafts from donors are an option, but risk immune rejection of the graft and scar formation.”
Less Expensive, More Effective
The new technology can be used as a less expensive, more effective way to treat an ailment affecting millions of people in the United States—chronic, large, or non-healing wounds such as diabetic pressure ulcers. Currently, treating these wounds are costly because they require multiple treatments, researchers said.
The technology also can be used to treat burn injuries, which account for about 10 percent to 30 percent of soldier injuries from current military engagements and affect about 500,000 civilians yearly, Murphy said. They also can be costly and painful to treat.
To develop the skin using the new printer, researchers isolate and then expand major skin cells—dermal fibroblasts and epidermal keratinocytes—from a small biopsy of uninjured tissue. Fibroblasts are cells that synthesize the extracellular matrix and collagen, which play a critical role in wound healing; while keratinocytes are the predominant cells found in the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin.
The new technology can be used as a less expensive, more effective way to treat an ailment affecting millions of people in the United States—chronic, large, or non-healing wounds such as diabetic pressure ulcers. Currently, treating these wounds are costly because they require multiple treatments, researchers said.
The technology also can be used to treat burn injuries, which account for about 10 percent to 30 percent of soldier injuries from current military engagements and affect about 500,000 civilians yearly, Murphy said. They also can be costly and painful to treat.
To develop the skin using the new printer, researchers isolate and then expand major skin cells—dermal fibroblasts and epidermal keratinocytes—from a small biopsy of uninjured tissue. Fibroblasts are cells that synthesize the extracellular matrix and collagen, which play a critical role in wound healing; while keratinocytes are the predominant cells found in the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin.
The cells are mixed into a hydrogel and placed into the bioprinter, Murphy said. “A hand-held device is then used to scan the wound, feeding data into the software, which then tells the print heads which cells to deliver exactly where in the wound layer by layer,” he explained.
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From: www.designnews.com/materials-assembly/bio-printer-can-print-skin-directly-wounds/105352586160487