Inkjets are enrolling in medical school and may someday be repairing fractured arms.
Scientists at the University of Manchester in England are trying to develop a technique through which inkjet nozzles will spray live human cells onto a patient. Ideally, this would speed up the healing process because doctors could seed a patient with replacement tissue that would grow to the size and shape required. The seed cells could also be grown from a previously harvested sample from the patient, thereby reducing the chances of donor rejection.
So far, the Manchester group has employed the technique to spray (and grow) human fibroblasts and osteoblasts, the cells responsible for forming, respectively, muscle tissue and bone, according to Brian Derby, professor of material science at the University of Manchester. They have also grown bovine chondrocytes, or cartilage cells.
“We are interested in tissue engineering cartilage, bone and blood vessels. Skin is an application but not our main focus even if the press have picked it up,” Derby said in an e-mail. “My guess would be bone replacement as the first application.”
