High-frequency sound waves turn stem cells into bone cells in just 5 days

The researchers used high-frequency sound waves to turn stem cells into bone cells. A new direction in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, helping patients regrow bone lost due to cancer or degenerative disease.

This innovative stem cell treatment by researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne (Australia).

High-frequency sound waves can turn stem cells into bone cells

According to Scitech Daily, tissue engineering is a recent emerging field. The aim is to regenerate bones and muscles by harnessing the human body's ability to heal itself.

An important challenge in bone regrowth is the need for a large amount of strong growth bone cells. These cells will be transplanted to the site of injury or disease, or coated with transplanted tissue, ready to grow new bone.

To date, experimental procedures to change adult stem cells into bone cells have used complex and expensive equipment. On the other hand, these processes struggle with mass production, making widespread clinical application impractical.

There are also several clinical trials that attempt to regrow bone, most using stem cells extracted from the patient's bone marrow - a very painful procedure.

In a new study published in the scientific journal Small, the RMIT team treated stem cells with high-frequency sound waves, which turn into bone cells in just five days.

Importantly, this treatment is effective on a variety of cells, including fat-derived stem cells, with less pain than when extracted from a patient's marrow.

Co-lead of the study, Dr Amy Gelmi at RMIT University, said the implementation of this new method is faster and simpler than other methods.

"Sound waves cut the treatment time needed for stem cells to start turning into bone cells by five days," says Gelmi.

The method also doesn't require any special "osteogenic" drugs and is easy to apply to stem cells.

The high-frequency sound waves used in stem cell therapy are generated on a low-cost microchip device developed by RMIT.

Research co-leader Professor Leslie Yeo and his colleagues have spent more than a decade studying the interaction of sound waves at frequencies above 10 MHz with different materials.

The method has already been used to create in vitro meat, biological livers, artificial pancreases for transplantation for diabetics, artificial cartilage and blood vessels, artificial skin and bone marrow, mucosal tissues and organs. even an artificial penis.