皮膚也能"打印"?皮膚印刷"術或成真

A modified printers is developed to produce skin for burn victims, According to scientists from Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Cornell University and the Medical University of South Carolina.

威克森林再生醫學研究所、康奈爾大學以及南卡羅來納醫科大學的科學家日前宣稱，他們正在研究一款可以“打印”皮膚的改良版打印機，以解除燒傷患者的煩惱。

A small piece of skin is taken from the patient by researchers who expand the cells in large quantities. The next step is to put those new cells on a cartridge, and print on the patient without touching him.

據瞭解，研究人員會從病患身上獲取一小塊皮膚，然後通過培養獲得大量新細胞。接下來他們便將新細胞放在墨盒中，從而不用解除病患便可爲其“打印”合適的皮膚。

"We started out by taking a typical desktop inkjet cartridge. Instead of ink we use cells, which are placed in the cartridge," said Anthony Atala, director of the Wake Forest. "It's like a flat-bed scanner that moves back and forth and (puts) cells on you."

“我們用傳統的墨盒進行實驗。當然裏面並不使墨水，而是細胞，”威克森林再生醫學研究所主任安東尼如是說。“（‘打印’過程）就像是水平掃描儀在身上前後移動並把細胞覆蓋在身上一樣。”

The process may be five years away from clinical use, he said.

他補充說再過五年該研究便可應用於臨牀使用。