Surgeons at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital announced on Thursday the implementation of new technology that will allow staff to more efficiently regenerate skin cells for wound and burn patients.
Known as the third largest burn center in the globe, Augusta’s JMS Burn Center was proud to perform the world’s first procedure using next generation technology on May 31.
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Following the successful surgery, the center has acquired 16 units of AVITA Medical Inc.’s new RECELL GO systems that streamlines the preparation of spray-on skin cells to produce more efficient and consistent results for patient care.
For intense burn wounds that cannot close on their own, patients have to undergo a skin graft – a surgical operation that requires transplanting a portion of a patient’s healthy skin to a different site on the body, a procedure that can be very painful to heal.
However, RECELL GO can decrease the amount of donor skin required to heal burn wounds by automating a process that has previously been performed by healthcare professionals.
Created by AVITA, a commercial-stage regenerative medicine company headquartered in California that specializes in devices for wound care management and skin restoration, the RECELL GO system is a newly modified cell harvesting device that harnesses regenerative properties of a patient’s own skin to treat any kind of burn wound.
“As the largest burn center in the country, we are incredibly proud to be the first to utilize this groundbreaking skin regeneration technology,” said Joanna Conley, CEO of Doctors Hospital of Augusta. “This first-in-class innovation for wound care management and skin restoration exemplifies our unwavering commitment to pioneering advancements that enhance the quality of life for our patients.”
Since RECELL GO requires significantly less donor skin, James Clinton, a regenerative tissue specialist, said the state-of-the-art systems will allow for improved patient healing, reduced pain, faster wound closure, fewer required procedures and a reduction in length of hospital stay for many.
Clinton said that because RECELL GO ensures faster wound closure, patients will also experience less scarring, which can improve the aesthetic appearance of their skin following treatment.
“What’s neat about RECELL GO is that it takes a third of the steps that we’re used to doing previously and is going to produce a product that has consistency, but also reproducibility every single time,” he said. “So every patient is getting the highest quality of care.”
By streamlining the regenerative processes and enhancing operational efficiency, Niraj Doshi, senior vice president of R&D and Program Management for Avita Medical, said the burn center can treat a greater number of patients, while reducing the training necessary for medical staff to undergo because of further simplified user interfaces.
“It actually takes a process that took several steps and automates that … so that doctors can actually utilize that time to do other things,” Doshi said.
With the idea first conceived three years ago and perfected thanks to doctor feedback, Doshi, the principal inventor of RECELL GO, said he hopes to see the system eventually adopted throughout the globe in many burn centers.
“I’ve literally got paper napkin sketches of embodiments of this, and now to actually see it and witness it being used with the ultimate goal of helping patients is amazing,” he said. “It’s been an exciting ride … it’s extremely satisfying to see it being applied in clinical care.”
According to Clinton, each unit of RECELL GO can be utilized for 200 times before needing to be replaced, but will result in increased optimal cell yieldings and viability.
“This is one of those exciting times in my career where a collaboration between the Joseph M. Still Burn Center, Doctors Hospital in Augusta, as well as the industry can bring something that has completely revolutionized the way we provide care for our patients each and every day,” said Dr. Shawn Fagan, chief medical officer of the JMS Burn Center.
As burn wounds can sometimes be devastating as well as life-threatening, Fagan said RECELL GO’s spray-on skin cells has the potential to not only save patients, but give them a better quality of life following care.
“That not only on our smaller burns decreases the amount of discomfort that our patients have, but on our larger burns allow us to go back and reharvest, and get closure in a timely fashion, which I certainly think will improve survival in the long run,” he said.
Since the first procedure in May, seven patients have been treated through RECELL GO, and Fagan said he thinks the system will dramatically increase the center’s annual treatment of 3,400 patients.
“What we want to do is just be able to provide the best care to our patients,” he said. “… as we continue to move forward with this product, we want to bring this to our patients as quickly as possible. We want to continue to improve it, and I think the collaboration that we have will have that happen in no time.”
