Wake Forest University’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine is where some of the best 3D bioprinting news springs forth. The North Carolina-based institute has developed 3D printed cartilage and is even 3D printing various organ tissues to test vaccines. Now, it seems that Wake Forest is also in the business of 3D printing skin for the US Army.
Along with the Army’s other projects to 3D print hearts, blood vessels, and the like, the latest issue of the military’s own publication Army Technology (PDF), explains that 3D printed skin is almost ready for clinical trials. Wake Forest has already developed and tested a specialty 3D printer for printing skin cells onto burn wounds. After a scanner measures the size and depth of a wound, this data is sent to the printer’s software, which uses the depth information to determine which types of skin cells to use in the printing process, as different cell types are located at different depths. The printer then creates a small patch to cover the burn. And, because of the skin’s natural healing abilities, a piece of skin only 1/10th the size of the wound is necessary to grow over the burn.…
The original post US Army’s 3D Printed Skin Near Ready for Clinical Trials appeared first on 3D Printing Industry.
