xkcd
Campaigns
TS-Si supports open and immediate access to publicly funded research.
Petition: remove women of transsexual / intersex history from the GLAAD Media Reference Guide. [ sign ]
Read: Andrea Rosenfield's call for reform.
Opening Doors to Transsexual Medical Research
TS-Si
is dedicated to the acceptance, medical
treatment, and legal
protection of individuals correcting the misalignment
of their brains and their anatomical sex, while supporting their transition
into society as hormonally reconstituted and surgically corrected citizens.
is dedicated to the acceptance, medical
treatment, and legal
protection of individuals correcting the misalignment
of their brains and their anatomical sex, while supporting their transition
into society as hormonally reconstituted and surgically corrected citizens.
| Automated Production Of Artificial Skin |
 |
 |
| SciMed - Healthcare | |||
| TS-Si News Service | |||
| Friday, 12 December 2008 10:00 | |||
 München, Germany. The availability of viable skin for transplants during surgery can limit the quality of the outcome. This is a major concern of plastic and reconstructive surgeons who must ensure full function while doing the least harm to other areas of the body. Transplanting skin is a painstaking task, and a transplant that has to cover large areas often requires several operations. Medical scientists have therefore been trying for a long time to grow artificial tissue. This “artificial skin” would allow them to treat these patients better and faster. However, the use of cultured skin tissue, an emerging technology, has been limited by by both cost and ready availability.
Development of a fully automated process is underway that can improve the production of artificial tissue, permitting surgeons to perform transplants with skin produced in the laboratory. This tissue is also suitable for testing chemicals at a low cost without requiring animal experiments.
The images shown above compare a cross-section through artificial skin (left) with a section through human skin (right). Both the natural and the artificial skin are made up of three layers. Image courtesy of Fraunhofer IGBTissue engineering has been at the focus of research for many years, and tissues such as cartilage or skin are already being cultured in numerous
 biotechnology laboratories. But the researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart plan to go further and enable fully automated tissue production.
“Until now, methods of culturing tissue like that used for skin transplants have been very expensive,” says IGB head of department Professor Heike Mertsching. “Most of the steps are carried out manually, which means that the process is not particularly efficient.”
The researchers have therefore elaborated a novel conceptual design in collaboration with colleagues from the Fraunhofer Institutes for Production Technology IPT, Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA, and Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI. There are several steps involved:
Alternatively, the tissue can be cryopreserved — that is, deep-frozen and stored for later use. “It was important for us that the entire mechanical process is divided into separate modules,” says Mertsching.
“This enables us to replace or modify individual modules, depending what is needed for the production of different tissue types.” The method opens up almost unlimited new possibilities for the medical scientists. One of their upcoming projects is to produce intestinal tissue for resorption tests.
 The TS-Si News Service is a collaborative effort by TS-Si.org editors, contributors, and corresponding institutions. Sources can include the cited individuals and organizations, as well as TS-Si.org staff contributions. Articles and news reports do not necessarily convey official positions of TS-Si, its partners, or affiliates. We welcome your comments. Use the form below to leave a public comment or send private correspondence via the TS-Si Contact Page. We will not divulge any personal details or place you on a mailing list without your permission.TS-Si is dedicated to the acceptance, medical treatment, and legal protection of individuals correcting the misalignment of their brains and their anatomical sex, while supporting their transition into society as hormonally reconstituted and surgically corrected citizens.
Email this
Comments (0)
 Write comment
|
|||
| Last Updated on Friday, 12 December 2008 00:01 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
The TS-Si News Service
and the TS-Si Research Service are collaborations of TS-Si officials, staff, contributors, and corresponding institutions. The contents do not necessarily convey official positions of TS-Si or its owners, participants, partners, or affiliates.