Did you
know that there is a 3D printer that can speed up the recovery of people
with severe burns, diabetes
warts, and various other major slow-healing wounds? Bellow, American scientist and technology expert Oded Kariti describes some of the key features of this incredible
invention.
Over the last few years, we witnessed 3D printing technology impacting a number of different industries.
There is medicine, and then there
are things with certain
element that simply
remind us of science fiction.
Namely, as
Oded Kariti reports, a group of scientists working at the Wake Forest Institute, recently developed a mobile
bioprinter that can print new skin directly on the wound, using the cell of the
patient. This device is the first of its kind in the world and allows skin printing in two layers
over the wound.
As Oded
Kariti further explains the unique advantage of their system is that it
can scan the wounds and place
the cells where it is
needed to form new skin.
Over the past 5 years, we saw several skin printers. The first prototypes were able to create thicker skin layers that
could move to mobile devices. This device, however, can be brought straight to the patient in the hospital, where the machine
can work directly on it.
The machine works by first taking a small sample of healthy
skin to isolate two types of cells that are then multiplied. Here Oded Kariti points out the crucial
differences with respect
to all previous devices.
Instead of placing
a full skin layer, this
printer first scans the wound to make its topographic map. The technology
developed in Wake Forest gives
a natural structure to
the skin cells that
helps the injury heal faster.
The ability for humans to regrow skin after serious burns
had been the ultimate goal of research scientists for many years. The next step for this 3D printer will be
preparing a clinical study on people. Ultimately, this could all be used to
treat people with burns, diabetics warts, and various other wounds that slowly heal.
