The researchers suggest that using a robot skeletal structure that mimics humans will be better suited for growing skin tissue needed for transplants. (images via Oxford & jsk.t.u Tokyo)
It may sound gruesome on the surface but ‘skinning’ a robot could be a better process than how lab-grown tissues and organs are grown today. Think about it, we’ve all scrapped and skinned arms and legs now and then and when the skin grows back, those new cells are stretched and contorted by our movement during the healing process. Cant’ replicate that in a Petri dish.
This is one of the problems that confront those undergoing tissue replacement surgery in which new lab-grown skin is grafted onto the body. The other issues are those replacements tend to be on the small side and can become damaged under the stress of movement.
As it stands, organ replacement constitutes growing the tissue in bioreactors, vats or Petri dishes that simulate the body’s warm, moist environment. While replicating our humid, swampy human bodies is one thing, the bioreactor can’t simulate the movement or motion of the human body, and therefore the grown tissue isn’t as robust as nature or Buffalo Bill would have it.
Oxford researchers suggest using humanoid robots such as UTokyo’s Kenshiro or RES’s ECCEROBOT would be ideal candidates for growing skin tissue due to their ability to mimic the human body.
In a detailed paper submitted to Science Robotics, the Oxford researchers suggest that human-like robots could be the answer to growing larger more durable tissue due to their similar skeletal and muscle structure that closely mimic the human body. The paper cites the University of Tokyo’s Kenshiro and Robotics and Embedded Systems’ ECCEROBOT (Embodied Cognition in a Compliantly Engineered Robot) as examples of robots that could be used for the endeavor.
The paper states, “With their structures activated by artificial muscles, musculoskeletal humanoids have the ability to mimic more accurately the multiple degrees of freedom and the normal range of forces observed in human joints. As a result, it is not surprising that they offer new opportunities in science and medicine.”
Of course, the current state of tissue manufacturing will have to undergo advancements as well and need to utilize ‘mechanical stimulation’ in both the vivo and in vitro processes, which will ultimately result in larger tissue generation and stronger cell structure.
Beyond skin, the robots could also be utilized for growing other tissues for grafting purposes, such as tendons, ligaments, cartilage and even bone. They also touch on modifying the robot structure based on the patient’s anatomy- customized tissue replacement of sorts. The researchers also see case uses to reduce animal testing and ‘biohybrid humanoids’ (AKA cyborgs) that merge organic cells with mechanical systems that use muscle for movement.
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