Tag Archive for: biological scaffold

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A Step Towards Better Veterinary Care: 3 Trends to Watch in 2023

https://uptickmarketing.com/what-is-geotargeting-why-is-it-important/Veterinary medicine is constantly changing and evolving. We’re thankful for the innovation, but as new technologies and treatments are developed, it impacts how we care for animal patients. Keeping up with the ever-expanding veterinary world can be overwhelming. To make keeping up with the best veterinary care available easier, we’d like to share a short list of three trends to watch in 2023.

Technology

Specifically AI technology. AI is a big trend impacting veterinary medicine as we witness its increased use first-hand. Artificial intelligence may not yet be at a level to assist with surgeries, but it can expedite diagnoses and relegate tedious tasks. Veterinarians embracing AI bots can help free up their veterinary technicians, spending long hours inputting health records, to answer questions and focus on better patient care. AI technology is also helpful for scheduling appointments and automated reminders via text messages, email, and phone calls. Beyond administrative help, more and more veterinary offices are embracing AI to help interpret pet data through EKGs, X-Rays, MRIs, and more.

According to a medical technology survey by Statista, AI in veterinary health care was fully functional by 2021. Hence, the usage of AI in veterinary medicine is growing across a range of applications like imaging, disease predictions, cancer treatments, and radiology. AI Technology empowers veterinarians, pet parents, and the medical community to provide the best possible care to patients.

Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology involves redesigning or constructing biological entities to carry out desirable biotechnological processes. For example, Vetrix BioSIS is a bioresorbable material that uses an extracellular matrix (ECM) derived from porcine small intestine submucosa (SIS). It replaces and repairs flesh at the wound site by working with the body’s natural healing process.

The ECM works as a biological scaffold for cells to migrate to and regenerate. It’s the perfect environment for cells to reproduce since it’s also made up of cell tissue. It also provides excellent structural support to native cells to form organized tissue. As the cells lay down their collagen, robust and permanent tissue repair occurs. Because ECM is a biomaterial, there’s no foreign material left behind in the patient’s body as natural self-renewal occurs. This also means there’s no calcification, tissue erosion, or encapsulation that synthetic materials can cause.

More opportunities are regularly arising to use synthetic biology in veterinary medicine for wound management, gastrointestinal soft tissue repair, thoracic wall repair, hernia repair, degloving injuries, mass removals, and more.

Cell and Gene Therapies

Cell and gene therapies are used in various approaches to treat disease at the cellular and genetic levels. Most approved cell therapies in the U.S. focus on blood cancers. However, one of the next goals in cell therapy is to improve efficiency by reprogramming cells in vivo — inside their bodies. The medical community is expecting big things in 2023. Meanwhile, the field of gene therapy faces a pivotal year in 2023 that will likely bring new treatments (and challenges). Medical professionals are excited about the progress being made. Still, many are keeping an eye on pricing and its impact on vets and their patients. A lot is happening in the field of cell and gene therapies and we believe it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Vetrix veterinary regenerative medicine solutions enable veterinarians around the world to provide exceptional patient care all year, every year. Learn more about affordable Vetrix technologies.

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BioSIS as a Biological Scaffold

BioSIS is revolutionizing the way veterinarians are able to care for seriously wounded patients. Due to its framework and ability to attract cells, BioSIS may shorten healing time and ensure organized tissue regrowth in the damaged area. Good blood flow is key to using the BioSIS method successfully. Read on to discover how to get the best results when using this method of wound care in your patients.

Use the Horizontal Mattress Technique

Proper blood flow is essential to successfully using BioSIS as a biological scaffold. Using the horizontal mattress technique to fixate the graft encourages blood flow to the wound site, by connecting to many points of blood supply. This also enables you to slide the edges of the implant under the undermined tissue edges and allows for further connectivity to the patient’s healthy blood supply.

Throughout BioSIS insertion, you can also use “tacking” to apply independent sutures and ensure it’s secure and flush against the wound.

Perforate the BioSIS Scaffold if Necessary

To avoid inflammation, fenestration may be necessary. This usually only applies to larger wounds to keep cells and other fluids from accumulating between the BioSIS scaffold and healing flesh. It is also helpful in preventing a hematoma from forming.

One major threat to the success of this procedure is dried blood. This generates inflammation, which is crucial to limit throughout the healing process. Stoppage of blood flow can prevent cells from evenly attaching to the scaffold and deter the healing process.

Keep the Matrix in Place

Once cells begin to lay their own collagen matrix, it’s important to be extremely careful when changing bandages. As the patient’s own cells take over the BioSIS graft, it will be resorbed at different rates—not all at once. When changing bandages, it’s imperative that as much of the extracellular matrix from the implant be left intact to continue healing. Using a non-adherent bandage to dress the wound will help you to change it more easily.

Within the first 6-10 days of post-operative recovery, the wound will turn caramel-colored as the damaged tissue is replaced and repaired. Instead of thoroughly cleaning the wound and scraping off this pigment, simply irrigate with saline and apply another non-adherent bandage. This way, all of the graft is resorbed and healing is even across the entire contusion.

Allow/Encourage Wound Site Mobility

When bandaging the patient, allow for as much mobility as possible while still covering the entirety of the wound site. Mobility encourages blood flow which, as we mentioned earlier, is essential to the success of this method of healing.

Based on extensive research, we’ve found that mobility increases the rate at which the healing occurs and makes for a better off healing process overall. This is because the cells attaching themselves to the scaffold receive their direction from the surrounding matrix’s blood flow. If blood flow is weak or immobile, the cells will have no direction to follow. Just remember, form follows function.
We’d love to answer any questions you may have about this technique. Contact us to learn more or tell us how you’ve been able to help your patients using BioSIS technology. You can also visit here for more blogs on topics like this.

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