Inject. Mold. Stabalize

The importance of bioengineering materials during surgery is the main focus of so many bioengineers but what about the the need of post-surgical biomaterials? Post surgical scars are traumatic memories that the patient has to carry with them for the rest of their lives, this can cause not only social underdevelopment but can lead to other various psychological hindrances. Replacing soft tissue around the body has been hard because even with tissue implants it is hard to sculpt the tissue to look like its supposed to. This new biomaterial that is being introduced can be injected in liquid form, sculpted while in the body to take any shape, then by green LED light be solidified. This advance in bioengineering will be beneficial in replacing soft skin like lips, cheeks, parts of the back, and stomach. Now, because the material is half biological and half synthetic there has been a problem with this material being absorbed into the body, currently studies show that there are no harmful side effects to this problem but patients will have to get a replacement every 6-12 months.

I was first interested in this article because the term "molding a prosthetic or biomaterial" will be revolutionary in being able to "transform" all different types of bioengineering materials to fit the patient directly and not the "cookie cutter" approach that is used. The idea of a prosthetic being aesthetically appealing has never crossed my mind before. So much of human interaction deals with having to see the person's face therefore being able to make post-surgical facial scars look as normal as possible would be the best way to make physical rehabilitation the importance after surgery and not the scars left behind.


article: http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/38150/page1/