3D Bioprinter Layers Cells to Heal Wounds

Mar-02-19 A 3D bioprinter able to selectively layer skin cells could one day treat burns with a custom-made skin graft.

Developed by a team from Wake Forest, the mobile printer can be wheeled directly to the patient’s bed, where it will deposit a bioprinter ink grown from the patient’s skin cells. Instead of simply placing a skin graft over the injury, the printer relies on a 3D laser scan of the wound to determine where to layer two different types of skin cells—fibroplasts in the deepest layers and keratinocytes on the top. This selective layering replicates the natural tissue and promotes healing, and could be used to treat chronic wounds as well as burns.

Image Credit: WFIRM - A WFIRM technician operates the mobile bioprinter for skin printing on a limb demo.

More Info about this Invention:

[MEDICALXPRESS.COM]
[SCHOOL.WAKEHEALTH.EDU]

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