Ultrasound increases graft tissue cell viability

Ultrasound can help tissue grafts to survive and thrive following surgery, according to research in the Journal of Tissue Engineering. Ultrasound can improve cell viability by increasing cellular movement and tissue blood flow.

The study found that mouse muscle cells stimulated with low-intensity ultrasound showed greater cell numbers and better viability than controls. Researchers used adipose cells cultured from tummy tucks as well as mouse muscle cells.

Over a six-day period the test cells were treated with low-intensity ultrasound at 30 mW/cm² for short bursts of three or 10 minutes (J Tissue Eng 2010;doi:10.4061/2010/973530).

It was the first time preliminary evidence showed that low-intensity ultrasound can influence the viability of the cultured adipose cells in an in vitro organ culture model, the researchers said. Adipose tissue treated with low-intensity ultrasound showed significantly increased metabolic activity, and had fewer markers for tissue damage.