ARTIFICIAL SKIN Marc Cote BME 181 Section 2

ARTIFICIAL SKIN Marc Cote BME 181 Section 2 3/25/13

ANATOMY OF SKIN • Largest organ of human body • 2 layers • Epidermis (outer layer) • Dermis (inner layer)

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL SKIN? • Synthetic (laboratory produced) substitute for human skin • Effective replacement to skin graph • Used for treatment of victims with • severe burns • skin cancer • skin diseases • serious wounds

FIRST SYNTHETIC SKIN • Invented by John Burke (Massachusetts General Hospital) and Ioannis V. Yannas (MIT) • Cambridge, Massachusetts • Created polymer composed of collagen fibers and sugar molecule • Formed material that resembled skin

SILASTIC • Skin product Burke and Yannas created • Polymer membrane (dermis) and silicone protective layer (epidermis) • Frame for new skin tissue and blood vessels to grow • First used on patient in 1979 • Woman had burns over half her body • 3 weeks later woman new skin was growing quickly • same color as unburned skin

GRAFTSKIN • Howard Green professor at Harvard University was culturing skin cells • Grew sheet of human epidermis cells • Collagen with patients dermal cells placed for growth • On top of collagen layer is cultured human skin cells • In clinical trials (yet to be rejected) • Stapled or sutured onto the body during surgery

EPIDERMAL ELECTRONICS • Currently being researched at Stanford University • Circuits attached to the skin • Self-healing polymers • Potentially allow prosthetic patient to have sensory feeling in artificial limb

WORKS CITED • http: //www. discoveriesinmedicine. com/Apg-Ban/Artificial. Skin. html#b#ixzz 2 Nvfq. RQz. B • http: //www. wired. com/wiredscience/2012/11/synthetic-skin/ • http: //www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/6792993 • http: //www. burnresearchcenter. org/brcpublicwebsite/artificialskin. htm • http: //health. howstuffworks. com/skin-care/information/anatomy/skingraft 5. htm