Star Trek

The Dermal Regenerator in Star Trek is a medical device that heals flesh with a precise beam of light and radiation. Whenever a crew member is severely injured due to a puncture wound or burn injury, this handy little device can regenerate damaged skin immediately. Well, now that has become a reality. Previously, chemical skin peels, tissue expansion, laser surgery, and microdermabrasion have been used to treat all types of skin problems such as acne, cellulite, scars and burns. Well, now there is a new proceedure called Recell. This new technique was developed in Austrailia by Dr. Fiona Wood and Marie Stoner. In a nutshell, the old damaged skin is removed and a small sample of the patient's own skin is taken from the patient's own body, which is then replicated to promote new healthy skin cells to the appropriate size, then it is implanted to the wound, where the texture and color are an exact match, resulting in a remarkable outcome.

Quote from the site:

ReCell at a glance
Imagine being able to treat burns, improve scars or smooth irregular coloured areas of your body, leaving minimal scarring, simply by having your consultant spray on your own new skin. This is not a vision for the future - this is available right now. No gimmicks, no catches, no wild claims; just a clinically proven unique culture technology from which hundreds of patients world wide have already benefited.

ReCell is an innovative device that enables a surgeon to apply skin cells, collected from a small sample of the patient's own skin, to an area that needs new cells to ensure appropriate healing, skin texture and skin colour.

ReCell produces a suspension that contains all of the cells necessary to promote healthy skin growth. The spray has cells to promote healing (keratinocytes) and cells that reintroduce colour in scars or areas of excess whiteness (melanocytes).

See links:
http://www.avitamedical.com/index.php?ob=1&id=24
http://www.avitamedical.com/index.php?ob=1&id=7


Quote from the site:

An Introduction to ReCell
ReCell is an innovative device that enables a doctor to apply skin cells collected from a small sample of the patients's own skin to an area that needs new skin to assist appropriate healing, skin texture and skin colour.

ReCell helps to avoid the formation of scars and can replace old scar tissue or damaged skin with new skin that is more like the surrounding tissue. It can also be used to reintroduce skin colour (pigment) to areas of skin that are whiter than the surrounding skin.

Doctors use ReCell to treat acute wounds such as burns, old scars or during cosmetic surgery operations to enhance healing and reduce the formation of scars and blotchy skin.

ReCell produces a "Spray Solution" that contains all of the skin cells necessary to promote healthy skin growth. This includes keratinocyte cells that form the basis of healthy skin and melanocyte cells that produce skin colour (melanin). The cells are processed while the doctor prepares the area to be treated and are then sprayed onto the skin by the doctor. Once applied onto the wound, these cells multiply and spread throughout the skin, resulting in increased healing.


Treating Scars from Trauma, Acne, Skin Cancer or Surgery

Scars are generally the result of healing through the excess growth of tissues called collagen, rather than the growth of the normal cells found in skin called keratinocytes.

Doctors may use ReCell to replace the damaged cells with more normal skin cells (mainly keratinocytes) so that skin looks and feel more normal. Melanocytes are also useful in restoring normal skin colour to old scars.

So far, doctors have used ReCell to treat all types of scars, including those from burns, trauma and surgery.

See link:
http://www.appearance.com.au/recell.html


I've also included a link of before and after photos of the Recell proceedure:

http://www.avitamedical.com/index.php?ob=1&id=8


The reason why it is not available in the U.S. is because it is not FDA approved yet, and it will take at least another year or more until it becomes marketable. So, for those who wish to undergo the Recell procedure would have to fly to Australia, England or any part of Europe to get it done there. Pretty cool, eh?