Regenerative medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with the regrowth, repair, and replacement of damaged or diseased tissues. Regenerative medicine, in its earliest forms, involved mainly replacement, in the form of artificial heart valves to replace a defective heart valve, or a metallic joint that may be implanted into the body to replace a damaged knee. However, in recent years, although replacement with artificial, man-made “body parts” is still the most prevalent form of regenerative medicine, more and more attention has been paid towards regrowth and repair of tissues, particularly using more natural means.

For example, skin grafting is a widely used treatment for burn victims, whereby skin from a donor may be used to supplant, regrow, and repair the skin of a victim whose own skin may have been severely damaged. In a more dramatic example, at the forefront of discovery, researchers in a field called tissue engineering have figured out ways to “grow organs” and other body parts, such as an ear, in a laboratory setting to be transplanted into/onto people, although this technology is still fairly early in development.

Finally, one area of regenerative medicine that hasn’t been explored in as much detail yet may offer the “lowest hanging fruit” for the regrowth, repair, and replacement of damaged or diseased tissue, is regenerative medicine using your own tissue. In pursuit of this, we at Cellmyx have developed a suite of products, including our intelliFatTM SVT single use disposable adipose tissue harvesting, processing, and transfer system, to leverage the regenerative capabilities of adipose tissue, by enabling doctors to perform fat transfer procedures to cushion, pad, fill, or otherwise provide mechanical/structural support to damaged areas using adipose tissue. Additionally, it is widely known that adipose tissue contains the largest store of stem cells in the adult body, which MAY* impart a regenerative effect to the treated area. And the best part of all is that it is all your own tissue, so the safety margin is extremely high because there is no risk of ‘donor rejection”. Plus, you get to lose a few pounds while you’re at it, too!

*The regenerative capability of stem cells found in adipose tissue is still being investigated clinically. Please refer to the ongoing list of 400+ studies involving adipose derived stem cells (ADSC’s) at www.clinicaltrails.gov .