Nanofiber Spheres Carrying Cells Injected Into Wounds to Grow Tissue

ScienceDaily (Apr. 17, 2011) — For the first time, scientists have made star-shaped, biodegradable polymers that can self-assemble into hollow, nanofiber spheres, and when the spheres are injected with cells into wounds, these spheres biodegrade, but the cells live on to form new tissue.

Developing this nanofiber sphere as a cell carrier that simulates the natural growing environment of the cell is a very significant advance in tissue repair, says Peter Ma, professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and lead author of a paper about the research scheduled for advanced online publication in Nature Materials. Co-authors are Xiaohua Liu and Xiaobing Jin.

Repairing tissue is very difficult and success is extremely limited by a shortage of donor tissue, says Ma, who also has an appointment at the U-M College of Engineering. The procedure gives hope to people with certain types of cartilage injuries for which there aren't good treatments now. It also provides a better alternative to ACI, which is a clinical method of treating cartilage injuries where the patient's own cells are directly injected into the patient's body. The quality of the tissue repair by the ACI technique isn't good because the cells are injected loosely and are not supported by a carrier that simulates the natural environment for the cells, Ma says.

To repair complex or oddly shaped tissue defects, an injectable cell carrier is desirable to achieve accurate fit and to minimize surgery, he says. Ma's lab has been working on a biomimetic strategy to design a cell matrix -- a system that copies biology and supports the cells as they grow and form tissue -- using biodegradable nanofibers.

Ma says the nanofibrous hollow microspheres are highly porous, which allows nutrients to enter easily, and they mimic the functions of cellular matrix in the body. Additionally, the nanofibers in these hollow microspheres do not generate much degradation byproducts that could hurt the cells, he says.

The nanofibrous hollow spheres are combined with cells and then injected into the wound. When the nanofiber spheres, which are slightly bigger than the cells they carry, degrade at the wound site, the cells they are carrying have already gotten a good start growing because the nanofiber spheres provide an environment in which the cells naturally thrive.

This approach has been more successful than the traditional cell matrix currently used in tissue growth, he says. Until now, there has been no way to make such a matrix injectable so it's not been used to deliver cells to complex-shaped wounds.

During testing, the nanofiber repair group grew as much as three to four times more tissue than the control group, Ma says. The next step is to see how the new cell carrier works in larger animals and eventually in people to repair cartilage and other tissue types.

Emerging markets are gaining ground in medical technology innovation

Emerging markets, led by China, India and Brazil, are gaining ground in their capacity to produce the latest in medical technology innovation and may surpass developed countries in innovative healthcare delivery over the next decade, according to a new PwC report published today titled Medical Technology Innovation Scorecard: The race for global leadership. Growth in these emerging market economies is attracting the focus of the world’s innovation resources and activity, and they are taking the lead in developing a new generation of small, faster, more affordable medical devices.

The report is based on the findings of the PwC Medical Technology Innovation Scorecard, a new, multifaceted assessment of the capacity of nine countries to adapt to the changing nature of innovation: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

While there has been much anecdotal evidence that the centre of innovation is moving away from the U.S. the incumbent global leader, PwC is the first to analyse the specific factors that contribute to medical technology innovation. PwC quantified five factors, using 86 different metrics, to evaluate how well each nation promotes the advance of innovation, looking at the past five years and projecting change over the next decade to 2020.

The Innovation Scorecard ranks the overall capacity of each country on a scale of 1 to 9 with 9 being the highest score. A top-line view of the report finding reveals:

• The U.S. currently holds its position as the global leader in medical technology innovation, and because of decades of innovation dominance, it continues to show the greatest capacity for medical technology innovation. The U.S. currently has a total score of 7.1.
• The scores of the other developed nations (the UK, Germany, Japan and France) fall within a tight band of 4.8 to 5.4. Among the developed countries included in this study, Germany and the U.K. demonstrate the strongest support for innovation and Japan the weakest.
• Israel, despite its small size, ranks near the level of the European nations, a reflection of its strong capacity to foster innovation.
• The emerging markets lag behind developed ones. China, with its powerful economic growth engine, scores 3.4, ranking it higher than India and Brazil, each of which scored 2.7.

Looking to the future, the U.S. is expected to continue to lead in medical technology innovation, but also will lose ground to other countries during the next decade. The Innovation Scorecard also projects relative declines for Japan, Israel, France, the UK and Germany. By contrast, China, India and Brazil are likely to see gains during the coming decade. China, which has shown the largest improvement in its medical technology innovation capacity during the past five years, is expected to continue to outpace other countries and reach near parity with the developed nations of Europe by 2020.

Mike Swanick U.S. pharmaceuticals, medical device and life sciences industry leader, PwC, said:

“A confluence of social, demographic, economic and technology changes is altering the dynamics of the medical technology field. As a result, ecosystems that promote medical technology innovation – with supportive elements such as access to financing, scientific knowledge and patient interaction – are being established around the world, These changes are creating opportunities for companies – and entire nations – that are able to adapt to a rapidly evolving environment.”

Simon Friend, global pharmaceuticals, medical device and life sciences industry leader, PwC, added:

“If developed counties do not step up levels of investment in innovation, over the next decade new markets will surpass developed countries in innovative healthcare delivery; stimuli for new technologies is being built through the education system and we will see businesses focussing on new markets for new ideas and expanding sales bases.”

The Innovation Scorecard examined where each of the nine countries evaluated stands in relation to five broad “pillars” that helped to make the U.S. a leader in medical technology innovation for the past several decades: Powerful financial incentives such as reimbursements for adoption of new technologies; resources for innovation, such as academic medical centers; a supportive regulatory system; demanding and price-insensitive patients; and a supportive investment community of venture capitalists and other investors.

The Innovation Scorecard indicated that the ideal innovation ecosystem itself is changing as the nature of medical technology innovation evolves. Some of this transformation is being driven by changes in the U.S., such as more expensive, less-predictable regulatory approvals, an increased focus on value and cost-effective solutions in healthcare and increasingly international investments in R&D. Other dynamics are the result of changes abroad, including increasing investment in local academic medical centers; investment in research programmes; the return of foreign-educated scientists and doctors to their homelands; advancement of mobile health technologies that expand access to care; and a focus on the lean, frugal and reverse innovation necessary to deliver faster, better, cheaper and more effective healthcare solutions in these markets.

As a result of these many factors, medical technology companies increasingly are seeking clinical data, new-product registration and first revenue in non-U.S. markets that are becoming more attractive and supportive of new innovation. Medical technology innovators already are going first to market in Europe and, by 2020, likely will move into emerging countries before entering the U.S.

Despite the size of the markets in China, India and Brazil, their global leadership in medical technology innovation is not necessarily preordained. Factors related to intellectual property protection, difficulty of doing business in some emerging countries and weak local supplier networks could make these markets less attractive, despite their size, and could hinder these nations’ effort to assume innovation leadership.

Christopher L. Wasden, PwC managing director and co-author of the report said:

“We created the Innovation Scorecard because we wanted to better understand how medical technology innovation is changing and which nations have the strongest capacity and capability for innovation. The findings will be helpful to government officials and regulators seeking to advance policies that foster innovation as well as medical technology companies working to develop their own commercialisation strategies.”

Robots in Space, Part II

A NASA space robot got its first taste of freedom in months today (March 15), when astronauts aboard the International Space Station finally pried open its packing crate.

Astronauts Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli set free Robonaut 2 — a prototype robotic assistant designed to help astronaut crews with chores and repairs — at around 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) today. The robot butler, which arrived at the station aboard NASA's space shuttle Discovery on Feb. 26, had been packed away in a closet-size crate since August 2010.

"We want to introduce you to the newest member of our crew," Coleman said in a NASA video as she stood next to a floating Robonaut 2. "Now he's up here with us, and we're going to see what Robonaut can do." [Photos: Robonaut 2 – NASA's Space Droid]

"Totally awesome," a voice answered from NASA mission control in Houston. "Thanks for that, guys."

Hello, Mr. Roboto

Coleman and Nespoli played a bit of a joke on the viewers watching NASA's video feed. The spaceflyers announced that they had a shock when they opened the space robot's crate.

"It looks like Robonaut is not here," Nespoli said.

"We just have an empty box where Robonaut is supposed to be," Coleman added.

But eventually the camera found Robonaut 2 floating by himself in the station, and Coleman swooped in to greet and grab ahold of the robotic helper.

"Robonaut is aboard, and he couldn't wait for us to get him out of the box," Coleman joked.

A quick inspection

Robonaut 2 will eventually be put to work doing some chores aboard the station. But that will come later. The first order of business is giving the robot a quick going-over, to make sure it survived the trip from Earth in good shape.

"They'll do an inspection to make sure it all looks good, that there was no damage during launch," said NASA spokeswoman Brandi Dean at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Robonaut 2 is also making appearances in the U.S. Capitol this week. Today, a ground-based version of the robot will meet members of Congress as part of a NASA technology exhibit for lawmakers at the Capitol Visitor Center.

On Wednesday (March 16), the ground twin of Robonaut 2 will make another appearance, this time at the "Moving Beyond Earth" gallery in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. Museum officials and NASA will give live demonstrations of Robonaut 2 throughout the day tomorrow.

Getting to know Robonaut 2

The $2.5 million Robonaut 2 — also known as R2 — consists of a head and torso, along with a pair of limber arms that sport hands with articulating fingers and thumbs. It is the first humanoid robot ever to fly in space and stands 3 feet, 4 inches (1.01 meter) tall and weighs about 330 pounds (150 kilograms). [Infographic: Meet Robonaut 2]

R2 is a joint project of NASA and carmaker General Motors. It's the product of a cooperative agreement to develop a robotic helper that can work alongside humans, whether they're astronauts in space or Earthbound workers at GM plants, NASA officials have said.

The real-life R2 unit (whose name bears a resemblance to the R2D2 droid of "Star Wars" fame) will live and work at a post inside the space station's Destiny module. With its dexterity, the robot should be able to use many of the same tools astronauts do.

Researchers will study how R2 works side-by-side with astronauts to make station operations run more smoothly. The overall goal is to use lessons learned from R2 to develop more advanced robotic helpers in the future, according to NASA officials.

No chore schedule for R2 yet

R2's working life won't be starting in the next few days.

After inspecting the bot, astronauts will stow it temporarily, Dean said. The robot's packing foam and crate will be packed away inside the station's unmanned Japanese HTV-2 cargo vehicle, which will take garbage away from the station later this month, ultimately burning up in Earth's atmosphere.

At some point in the not-too-distant future, R2 will get to flex its arms and fingers in space for the first time. Astronauts will slide a so-called "task board" in front of the bot, letting it practice pushing buttons and flipping switches. But when that will happen remains up in the air.

"As far as I know, there's no schedule for that yet," Dean told SPACE.com.

R2's first moments of freedom in space may be a frustratingly brief tease, for the robot will be shelved for a while shortly after the astronauts finish looking it over.

"They'll put Robonaut 2 in a bag to protect it, once they've taken it out and inspected it," Dean said.