Skin Printer for Low-Cost Wound Dressings and Skin Regeneration in Cambodia

Skin is the largest organ and forms a protective barrier against the external environment. At the same time, skin is very vulnerable. When severe skin loss occurs, normal wound healing cannot reconstitute the skin, requiring multiple interventions. The high cost and elevated morbidity associated with current clinical procedures, especially in developing countries, motivated innovators at University of Toronto to develop a bold skin printing approach. The Skin Printer produces continuous, patient cell-populated wound dressings on site and promises to revolutionize burn care with the formation of skin grafts (a piece of skin transplanted to a new site on the body). This new approach is much more economical, offers a clinically relevant output and will significantly improve outcomes. The Skin Printer is enabled by a bio-printing technology that the team has recently invented.