US ARMY’S 3D PRINTED SKIN SET FOR CLINICAL TRIALS

Science Fiction-Like Skin Regeneration May Soon Be Found Outside of the Movies

Somewhat reminiscent of Johnny Rico’s regenerative skin graft in Starship Troopers (see above photo), a 3D bioprinter developed at Wake Forest’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) will soon undergo clinical trials. The 3D printer was developed as part of the US military’s Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM) Phase 1 program to improve the treatment and rehabilitation of seriously wounded soldiers. It prints skin cells directly onto burn wounds and could someday replace traditional skin grafts, where sections of healthy skin from elsewhere on the body are surgically removed and grafted over damaged sections. The existing procedure is both very painful for the patient and limited to the amount of healthy skin that can be safely removed. Wake Forest’s printer technology reportedly “only needs a patch of skin one-tenth the size of the burn to grow enough skin cells for skin printing.”

The benefits of a working printer that can print skin directly onto wounds, with a lower need for starter cells would be very great. This type of technology is particularly pertinent for the US military, as burns account for 30 percent of injuries endured by soldiers on the battlefield. Add to this, the number of soldiers who are surviving previously fatal injuries; there is now a renewed effort to develop innovative treatments to improve the care of injured service personnel.