The idea of growing tissue in a lab is nothing new, so why not breasts? It’s fun to think about, but there is a serious side to all of this as well. We know that there are benefits for patients suffering from disease and injury, but we have to ask ourselves: What implications could this technology have for elective plastic surgery?

Back in 2006, scientists discovered a clue to growing new breast tissue using mammary stem cells. While this development could lead to drugs that could stop cancer, it could also give plastic surgeons the ability to grow new breast tissue. Today we discovered that Australian scientists are starting trials of a procedure called Neopec that involves implanting a biodegradable, synthetic chamber containing a woman’s fat tissue in the breast. The chamber acts as “scaffolding” for new breast tissue to grow on.

As awesome as all of this sounds, think about the bigger picture here. Today, there can be a stigma associated with excessive physical augmentation. Do you think our views would change if a woman (or a man for that matter) could be “naturally” augmented through cell manipulation? [Telegraph via PopSci and Times Online]

3D medical imagery has always been fascinating to me: Generating 3D models from film footage is still a fledgling tech, while medical professionals render guts on a daily basis. And sometimes, apparently, connected to Xbox controllers.

Researchers at Iowa State University have designed software that can quickly and simply render a detailed 3D model of a patient’s MRI and CAT scan results. The software, called BodyViz, claims two core advantages over similar technologies: It’s easier to use, and it’s set up to use with an Xbox 360 controller out of the box because, let’s face it, to the latest crop of med school grads, old-school mice and trackballs are lame, bro.

Add a couple of stock FPS weapons, hook this thing up to some robotic arms with knives, fire up the laparoscope and bam: surgery, revolutionised. [IA State via BoingBoing]

This week, Gizmodo is exploring the enhanced human future in a segment we call This Cyborg Life. It’s about what happens when we treat our body less as a sacred object and more as what it is: Nature’s ultimate machine.

In May 2008, CNN Money estimated that due to inflation, that $US6 million surgery would cost slightly over $US26 million. But obviously the surgery in the original TV show wasn’t quite medically accurate, and creating those bionic parts from scratch would actually cost somewhere between $US50 million and $US100 million today — although after one successful prototype is completed, it could cost far less.

However, CNN Money posted this article before the world economy exploded. My learned estimate for how much the Six Million Dollar Man’s surgery would cost today? Twelve bucks and a beer. [CNN]

While according to studies done on pigs, the entire procedure was safe and caused no internal damage, I somehow wouldn’t trust something as precious as my boobs to the Cup&Up. Line up for other procedures that worked in animals, but please just stick to wrapping bras around your breasts. [Isreal21c via MedGadget]

Basically a bunch of stereo cameras are used to record the external structure of a body while a CT scan takes care of the innards. A 3D image is created from the images, and the pathologists can get to work without worrying about deforming a deceased body. If need be, minor incisions into the real body can be made by robots while still keeping damage minimal.

Aside from being far neater than a traditional autopsy, virtual autopsies allow for archiving of the 3D bodies for later medical analysis or case comparison in the event of criminal trials. Not to mention that there’d never be an “Oops. I didn’t mean to make that incision” again. [New Scientist via Pop Sci]

The plasma knives are vaguely similar to tools currently used in radiosurgery, but rather than heating tissue directly and damaging it, they penetrate and cauterise it safely. While tools like this are great because they have the potential to save many lives in situations where proper hospital care is not an option, let’s be honest: most of us just plain want some mini lightsabers. [Wired]

The thing about electroscalpels is that they put off gaseous ions, which, besides being something you shouldn’t breath in, it so happens are perfect for being analysed via mass spectrometry — a method of identifying molecules based on their mass and change. A spectrometer pulls in the fumes from the electroscalpel, and analysis of the chemical sample happens almost instantly, allowing surgeons to, in near real time, “draw a map and say this part is healthy liver, that is connective tissue, this is adipose tissue, that is cancer” according to Zoltán Takáts, a Justus-Liebig University professor who came up with the idea.

Like any other technology-driven medical advance when it comes to cancer, it’s not cheap to implement: The electrosurgery setup alone is $US8000, while the mass spectrometry setup is $US120,000. I wonder how much the first medical tricorder is gonna cost. [Technology Review]

We upgrade, update, and customise nearly everything, so why not our vision too? Reach for the stars and all that jazz. And even the tech fits the theme: some more common optical surgical procedures are actually based on NASA technology:

Wavefront technology, originally developed by NASA to aid the focus of the Hubble Space Telescope on distant stars, measures up to 250 spots in the pupil to provide a precise map of the cornea and iris. This offers the potential to correct problems not addressed by glasses, such as halos around lights at night or glare.

Fighter pilots, snipers, long-distance drivers, politicians, supermodels, and your average Sally or Joe Smith are getting eye surgery. Why? Some are doing it for vanity, to no longer have to wear glasses they may consider unsightly, or contacts that may be a hassle. Others are doing it to advance in their careers: some pilots wouldn’t be allowed to fly without meeting certain vision requirements, and others just wantbetter than normal vision.

Gradually it’s becoming more and more common for patients to request procedures which will over-correct or modify their corneas with goals other than simple 20/20 vision in mind. Those pilots might want better night vision and the speech givers want to avoid wearing reading glasses and request monovision. That’s great, but what about that Yankees catcher who gets surgery to see the balls flying at him better? While no one will care much about other cases, there could eventually be argument that his vision surgery is some form of unfair enhancement.

Potential arguments and debates aside, it’s not all just about boosting career aspirations and vanity though. Dr. Julian Stevens of Moorfields Eye Hospital, an expert on laser refractive surgery, gives an example of how “customized” vision helped a patient’s quality of life:

“One of my patients led an active life and had high-quality distance vision. When he became paralyzed from the neck down, his world became smaller – reading and television. Spectacles on your nose become painful if you can’t shift them.” The solution? Mr Stevens made him slightly short-sighted.

I must admit that this particular example made me cringe a little bit. What are the ethics of downgrading someone’s vision at his or her request even if it’s for an improvement in lifestyle. No matter. There’s some great potential for both good and evil in it, so I’ll be paying attention to advances in this whole custom-tailored vision trend, because my death glare definitely needs some upgrading. [Times Online]

Photo by bogenfreund

It’s the ultimate home theatre system that you’ll (hopefully) never be conscious to see.

The old da Vinci was alright, but the new da Vinci Si surgical system displays your intestines in 3D HD (a perspective created through a double-camera, double-display stereoscopic system) so that a surgeon can marvel at the efficiency of your GI tract and feel like those vital organs are right there.

So would you prefer a surgeon to perform your next operation, or a surgeon behind the da Vinci? We’d prefer a normal surgeon donning old school blue and red 3D glasses. [da Vinci via medgadget]

He’ll be back on a training bike in a few days, with his chances for the Tour in July still up in the air. Feel better, Lance. Have them install some synthetic muscles in there while you’re recovering. [SFgate, Deadspin, Twitter, Twitpic]