| Inkjet Device for Burns Maggie Fox WINSTON-SALEM, NC – 4/13/2010 (Reuters)—Inspired by a standard office inkjet printer, U.S. researchers have rigged up a device that can spray skin cells directly onto burn victims, quickly protecting and healing their wounds as an alternative to skin grafts. They have mounted the device, which has so far only been tested on mice, in a frame that can be wheeled over a patient in a hospital bed, they reported on Wednesday. A laser can take a reading of the wound’s size and shape so that a layer of healing skin cells can be precisely applied, said the team at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. “We literally print the cells directly onto the wound,” said student Kyle Binder, who helped design the device. “We can put specific cells where they need to go.” Tests on mice showed the spray system, called bioprinting, could heal wounds quickly and safely, the researchers reported at the Translational Regenerative Medicine Forum. “We were able to close the entire wound in two weeks,” Binder said. Mice with plugs of skin removed that were not treated took five weeks to heal, he said. The team will eventually seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to test the device on humans, said George Christ, a professor of regenerative medicine at the school. They are working with the U.S. Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine to come up with ways to help soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. It could be used to close various types of wounds as well as burns. Binder and colleagues dissolved human skin cells from pieces of skin, separating and purifying the various cell types such as fibroblasts and keratinocytes. They put them in a nutritious solution to make them multiply and then used a system similar to a multicolor office inkjet printer to apply first a layer of fibroblasts and then a layer of keratinocytes, which form the protective outer layer of skin. The wound on the mouse was completely closed by three weeks, they reported. Experts say victims of massive burns usually die of infection within two weeks unless they receive skin grafts, and normal grafting often leaves severe scars. The sprayed cells also incorporated themselves into surrounding skin, hair follicles and sebaceous glands, probably because immature cells called stem cells were mixed in with the sprayed cells, the researchers said. “You have to give a lot of credit to the cells. When you put them into the wound, they know what to do,” Binder said. \r ————- MilitaryConnection.com thanks you for your patronage. This website is a portal of all things military and is quickly becoming the “go to” website of the military community. We are constantly adding resources, content and features that benefit our audience on a variety of levels. All of our information and resources are free to users and there is something for everyone. MilitaryConnection.com salutes and commends military medical professionals for their dedication, commitment and outstanding achievement in the military realm. The medical personnel responsible for maintaining our military health system from physicians and nurses to our allied health professionals is held in high regard at MilitaryConnection.com. They are using cutting edge medicine and saving lives daily. They also improve and maintain the quality of the lives they save. These military healthcare professionals are outstanding and make incredible additions to civilian healthcare organizations when they transition from the military. MilitaryConnection.com offers a multitude of resources for healthcare professionals. When the next tour is back home, it’s on MilitaryConnection.com. |