皮肤也能"打印"?皮肤印刷"术或成真

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.

威克森林再生医学研究所、康奈尔大学以及南卡罗来纳医科大学的科学家日前宣称，他们正在研究一款可以“打印”皮肤的改良版打印机，以解除烧伤患者的烦恼。

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.

据了解，研究人员会从病患身上获取一小块皮肤，然后通过培养获得大量新细胞。接下来他们便将新细胞放在墨盒中，从而不用解除病患便可为其“打印”合适的皮肤。

"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."

“我们用传统的墨盒进行实验。当然里面并不使墨水，而是细胞，”威克森林再生医学研究所主任安东尼如是说。“（‘打印’过程）就像是水平扫描仪在身上前后移动并把细胞覆盖在身上一样。”

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

他补充说再过五年该研究便可应用于临床使用。