TISSUE ENGINEERING, Vol. 13, No. 8; 2007
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"Microfabrication Of Three-Dimensional Engineered Scaffolds," By Jeffrey T. Borenstein, Eli J. Weinberg, Brian K. Orrick, Cathryn Sundback, Mohammad R. Kaazempur-Mofrad And Joseph P. Vacanti, In TISSUE ENGINEERING, Vol. 13, No. 8; 2007
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In Brief
- Efforts to build living tissue replacements have progressed over the past decade, and some simple engineered tissues are already used in humans.
- Advances have come from a greater understanding of cell behavior and sophisticated new building materials.
- More tissue-engineered products are close to commercial readiness but must undergo the complex regulatory scrutiny given to living materials.
When two of us (Langer and Vacanti) last wrote in this magazine 10 years ago about prospects for tissue engineering, the very idea that living flesh could be “constructed” by following engineering principles and combining nonliving materials with cells sounded fantastical to many. Yet the need for such transplantable human tissues to replace, restore or enhance organ function was, and remains, urgent. Today nearly 50 million people in the U.S. are alive because of various forms of artificial organ therapy, and one in every five people older than 65 in developed nations is very likely to benefit from organ replacement technology during the remainder of their lives.
Current technologies for organ substitution, such as whole-organ transplants and kidney dialysis machines, have saved many lives, but they are imperfect solutions that come with heavy burdens for patients. Engineered biological tissues are customizable and immune-compatible and can therefore potentially make a significant difference in the lives of people with failing organs. They can fill other human needs as well, for example, serving as “organs on a chip” for testing the toxicity of candidate drugs.
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2 Comments
Add CommentOne tissue that an amateur such as I would think would be very useful and relatively easy to grow would be eye lenses. A grown lens would make a better replacement for a cataract and would also be useful in a variety of optical tools. As far as I know there is no man made lens that is elastic the way the human eye lens is. If various animal tissues can be grown in quantities in vitro one would thing there would be a large number of uses for them.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCould'nt this also be helpful for lets say Soldiers, Amputees who've lost a limb. would it be possible that scientists could grow a limb?
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