Publisher's Synopsis
This volume is the proceedings of the first in a series of meetings based on the Restoration Medical Engineering Program. The first meeting was an overview of the results of a project related to tissue engineering for organ regeneration. Functional failure of a main organ introduces death to life. Insufficiency of the sensory organs critically disturbs the quality of life. Much research has been focused on how to support the insufficient organs using biotechnological approaches. Partially successful in this theme is the mechanical support for respiratory insufficiency or the dialysis system for renal failure. Liver failure or pancreatic insufficiency could not be overcome by traditional bioengineering due to their complicated function. Organ transplantation solves this kind of problem, however, another big problem is the shortage of donor organs, and also the continuous medication for immunosuppression. Considering these factors the purpose of the project was 1) to prepare an artificial organ using tissues or cells from human beings or other animal combinations with artificial materials including biomaterials, and 2) to use the artificial organ - rescue of the targeted organ would be expected only by regeneration of its own cells and refunction as the native organ.
