Source: Good News Network
We may soon have access to a mobile bioprinter that can be filled with a patient’s cells, wheeled to their bedside, and print out brand new skin for large wounds and burns.
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) scientists have created such a mobile skin bioprinting system – the first of its kind – that allows bi-layered skin to be printed directly into a wound.
“The unique aspect of this technology is the mobility of the system and the ability to provide on-site management of extensive wounds by scanning and measuring them in order to deposit the cells directly where they are needed to create skin,” said Sean Murphy, a WFIRM assistant professor who was lead author of the paper published this month in Nature’s Scientific Reports journal.
Wounds that are large, chronic, or non-healing wounds (such as diabetic pressure ulcers) affect millions of Americans and are especially costly because they often require multiple treatments. It is also estimated that burn injuries account for 10 to 30% of combat casualties in conventional warfare for military personnel.
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