Skin gun--amazing technology

[hakuna matata]

Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide

If this is true, then this is amazing that we are this close to such a break-through for burn victims. It is one of my nightmares to get burned and this skin-gun seems to be a very viable solution to assist those people badly burned. I wonder how long it will be until this is readily available for the public?

warning--the video is a bit graphic, but worth the view in my opinion

 

[powerplay]

That's amazing and the person shown said his burned skin was healed in just a few days. I hope this becomes readily available soon.

 

[Moemg]

That is amazing !

 

[kyounge1956]

That's amazing and the person shown said his burned skin was healed in just a few days. I hope this becomes readily available soon.

What amazed me was that he said his face and ear had been burned too, but he had no visible scarring that I noticed, in less than a week. I've also heard that treatment for severe burns is horribly painful. Even if the severity of the pain isn't decreased, the duration is cut drastically. I wonder if this type of treatment could also be used to repair skin that has been severely damaged in the past, for example by acne scarring.

 

[REWahoo]

What amazed me was that he said his face and ear had been burned too, but he had no visible scarring that I noticed, in less than a week. I've also heard that treatment for severe burns is horribly painful.

I'm unfortunate enough to have some first hand experience. Twelve years ago I had a stupid accident that resulted in second and third degree burns on the underside of my left arm, from my elbow to my wrist. Although it was a relatively small area (roughly 20 sq inches), the treatment was extremely painful when scraping away all the dirty, charred remnants of skin to clean and dress the wound.

Not sure if this process, as great as it appears, would eliminate the need to clean the burned area before application of new skin. But even if that's not the case, the rapid healing and lack of scarring is an amazing improvement compared to my experience.

 

[BigMoneyJim]

This sounds too good to be true. I hope it is true, though.

But some sources say "skin cells" and some say "stem cells", so I am not sure exactly what they're spraying and how it's healing. Looks like concentrated window cleaner.

I can't imagine this would eliminate the need to clean the wound and remove dead skin.

 

[freebird5825]

Fabulous, just fabulous. I love it when technology is used for benevolent purposes.

I attended summer day camp with a young girl (my age) who was pushed into a bonfire by a bully. She was very badly scarred on her face, and 1 arm and 1 leg. And of course all the kids stared and whispered about her appearance. I stood right by her and was her "best-est friend".

This will make a huge difference in burn victims' lives. Bravo!

 

[Alan]

This sounds too good to be true. I hope it is true, though.

But some sources say "skin cells" and some say "stem cells", so I am not sure exactly what they're spraying and how it's healing. Looks like concentrated window cleaner.

I can't imagine this would eliminate the need to clean the wound and remove dead skin.

It looks like it is the patient's own cells that are used.

From the National G. site from 2005:

"When burns extend over 50 or 60 percent of the body, patients don't have enough of their own skin to cover them," said Baljit Dheansa, a consultant physician for burns and plastic surgery at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, England.
"We thought we'd give patients more skin cells than they had to start with," said Dheansa, who is involved in the study.
The technique involves taking a postage stamp-size piece of healthy skin from a burn victim. Scientists use the skin's top layer, or epidermis, to grow new cells in a laboratory. The cells are then sprayed on a burn victim's damaged skin. "In four weeks we can grow enough cells to cover the entire body's surface area," said Liz James, the scientist in charge of growing cells for the trial. James directs research at the Blond McIndoe Centre, a donation-supported surgery center based at Queen Victoria Hospital.

 

[kyounge1956]

(snip)I can't imagine this would eliminate the need to clean the wound and remove dead skin.

No, but I think with current practices it has to be done repeatedly. With the skin gun maybe it would only be once or twice. I bet there would be other applications for this besides healing burns—removing disfiguring birthmarks and scars just for starters, or maybe treating skin cancers? Thirty years from now it'll be available as a cosmetic procedure to get rid of liver spots!

 

[BigMoneyJim]

I'm not in the medical field, but I rather doubt this would help existing scars or birthmarks. I gather it promotes more effective healing.

I also suspect that even if everything we see in the video is legit that guy might have been an ideal subject; perhaps he wouldn't have scarred much if treated the traditional way. The video views much more like a commercial than a documentary.

 

[kyounge1956]

I'm not in the medical field, but I rather doubt this would help existing scars or birthmarks. I gather it promotes more effective healing.

I don't think it would do anything if simply sprayed on the area of an existing scar or birthmark. What I thought might work is if the area were deliberately prepared for the skin spray with a strong chemical peel, or abrasion, and then cells (from a normally pigmented area of the skin for birthmarks) sprayed on. I would expect the new cells to grow in smooth, and the same color as the rest of the person's skin.

 

[ERD50]

I was surprised just how nasty a 2nd degree burn looks. I would have figured that for a 3rd degree burn - but of course I have no medical training, that's just my impression.

I'd really hate to see a third degree burn.

I hope this works for many more people as well as these results indicate.

-ERD50

 

[hakuna matata]

I also suspect that even if everything we see in the video is legit that guy might have been an ideal subject; perhaps he wouldn't have scarred much if treated the traditional way. The video views much more like a commercial than a documentary.

In general I would agree. I think it has the potential to be a great product but I doubt the results are as good 'right now' as the video indicates. I am quite sure they are being very selective on which burn victims meet the protocol for success. The dollars and support to continue exploration wouldn't likely come without getting people excited about the potential of the product.

But it does seem to have tons of potential and that is why I posted it. It likely is still a few years out but it is still amazing that we are even this close on it.

 

[BigMoneyJim]

http://m.cnn.com/primary/_BjvBot-ipOqbLV2XRo

Similar article, apparently different people.