[quote](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 Forumb.
"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.
The next step is to try the system on pigs, whose skin more closely resembles the skin of humans. Binder said it may also be useful for treating diabetic foot ulcers, a common problem.[/quote]
[img]http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20100408&t=2&i=88847683&w=460&r=2010-04-08T190335Z_01_BTRE63711BW00_RTROPTP_0_US-WOUNDS-PRINTER[/img]
[img]http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20100408&t=2&i=88847685&w=460&r=2010-04-08T190335Z_01_BTRE63711BX00_RTROPTP_0_US-WOUNDS-PRINTER[/img]
[img]http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20100408&t=2&i=88847686&w=460&r=2010-04-08T190335Z_01_BTRE63711BY00_RTROPTP_0_US-WOUNDS-PRINTER[/img]
I imagine that it would eliminate scarring.
This is fucking amazing!
I feel happy and warm after reading this :)
[QUOTE=Weirdo009;21246889]This is fucking amazing!
I feel happy and warm after reading this :)[/QUOTE]
Why does that look like a troll to me?
Oh well...
Still, looks like soon we'll be using it on machines... And then the Terminators will arrive! :bravo:
[b]Addendum: I apologise for thinking you were a troll, I'm sorry. Great, now I feel like a jerk... Urgh, what the hell is happening to me...[/b]
Give me many, many boxes.
One day it will come in a can and someone will run out of a building completely fucking burned and just go "Lol wait man I got my can of skin one sec"
[QUOTE=Jamsponge;21246906]Why does that look like a troll to me?
Oh well...
Still, looks like soon we'll be using it on machines... And then the Terminators will arrive! :bravo:[/QUOTE]
So I can't be happy that people with scarring can look better than they did before?
[QUOTE=Weirdo009;21246926]So I can't be happy that people will scarring can look better than they did before?[/QUOTE]
Maybe we should burn him and see how he feels.
We have some hi-tech scientists here! Running windows XP!
[QUOTE=Bengley;21246932]We have some hi-tech scientists here! Running windows XP![/QUOTE]
Nothing wrong with XP if you have the service packs.
I doubt some company is going to go out right now and buy copies of Windows 7 for everyone just for the sake of being up to date.
Holy shit, this is awesome. The future is indeed made of printers, it would seem.
It seems we are one step closer to Medkits, too.
And another thing, Burnt Face Man would appear to have a new nemesis due to this.
[QUOTE=Bengley;21246932]We have some hi-tech scientists here! Running windows XP![/QUOTE]
It works so why not?
[quote]The next step is to try the system on pigs, whose skin more closely resembles the skin of humans. [/quote]
So are they going to seek out burn victim pigs or just intentionally burn pigs then? :raise:
[QUOTE=Analtrickery;21247573]So are they going to seek out burn victim pigs or just intentionally burn pigs then? :raise:[/QUOTE]
They'll probably inflict rather minor burns (nothing too horrific) onto a pig that's doped the hell up on something like morphine, and then see what happens.
A bit morally dubious but unfortunately that's the price we need to pay for progress. In the end this could save countless lives. One of the major problems with burns is that they're exposed to the world and can get very easily infected very quickly.
Where's that scene from Irobot when you need it.
[QUOTE=Weirdo009;21246926]So I can't be happy that people with scarring can look better than they did before?[/QUOTE]
That's not how it works. It wont fix scars. Unless, you cut the scar out and then resprayed the skin. I suppose that might work, but i doubt they'd bother if it's already healed.
What if the machine went wrong and sprayed skin over someone's mouth? Then...then...
[img]http://www.digitalproducer.com/pages/matrix/matrix_mouth.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=Splurgy;21247774]What if the machine went wrong and sprayed skin over someone's mouth? Then...then...
[img]http://www.digitalproducer.com/pages/matrix/matrix_mouth.jpg[/img]
:uhoh:[/QUOTE]
you'd have to have your head under it, have your mouth closed for several weeks to allow the skin cells to grow, and i don't even think they'd get a hold seeing as there's already perfectly formed skin around your mouth.
[QUOTE=pl0xinat0r;21247784]you'd have to have your head under it, have your mouth closed for several weeks to allow the skin cells to grow, and i don't even think they'd get a hold seeing as there's already perfectly formed skin around your mouth.[/QUOTE]
Damn. :(
yeh, but if you can just get past that, maybe make a slight incision around the mouth, and then use a coma patient or tie someone down or something, then it'd work. So there's still hope.
Holy shit does that scan in 3D?
I'm reminded of
[img]http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/6567/150pxallpurposespray.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=Splurgy;21247774]What if the machine went wrong and sprayed skin over someone's mouth? Then...then...
[img_thumb]http://www.digitalproducer.com/pages/matrix/matrix_mouth.jpg[/img_thumb][/QUOTE]
If they manage to get out of that, it'll be by the skin of their teeth.
i could use this
i burned my thumb.. i tried to see if my nail would protect my flesh
[QUOTE=whatnow V2;21251814]i could use this
i burned my thumb.. i tried to see if my nail would protect my flesh[/QUOTE]
is that why you were telling me to pull off my finder nail?
The future is cool.
Still waiting on hovercars though.
[QUOTE=Makol;21251839]is that why you were telling me to pull off my finder nail?[/QUOTE]
yes
Gotta love science.
Funnily enough I just burnt my hand to fuck with boiling water.
Does this mean I can spray myself black?
[QUOTE=UnknownDude;21252400]Does this mean I can spray myself black?[/QUOTE]
No you don't understand.
It allows skin to REBUILD, so like you get burnt and the skin dies.
It will never rebuild on its own.
Now this thing allows it to rebuild, so you could get your skin back.
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