Scientists from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia have succeeded in regrowth of bone by firing high-frequency sound waves at stem cells.
Stem cells from bone marrow can be used to regrowing bone, but they say it is more efficient and cheaper than other methods.
Amy Gelmi, a research fellow and co-author of a paper about the research, said the sound waves cut the treatment time by several days.
The device is cheap and simple to use, so it could easily be upscaled for treating large numbers of cells simultaneously, according to the statement.
Once stem cells are turned into bone cells, they can be injected or coated onto an implant to grow new bone.
The technique can use other cells from the patient's body, including fat tissue, instead of relying on bone marrow stem cells.
A small device developed by the researchers is able to generate sound waves over 10 megahertz, which is several orders of magnitude higher than the audible spectrum.
The researchers shot these sound waves at stem cells for ten minutes a day for five days.
The sound waves can be used to apply the right amount of pressure to the stem cells.
The team needs to scale up the platform significantly for medical use. The technology could eventually be turned into practical bioreactors, which could be used to boost the effectiveness of regenerative medicine.
Sound waves could help regrow bones.
A scientist predicts that humans will be able to regrowth limbs within our lifetime.
Are you interested in supporting clean energy adoption? At UnderstandSolar.com, you can find out how much money you could save if you switched to solar power. Futurism.com may receive a small commission if you sign up through this link.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
