ABSTRACT
The clinical requirement for artificial graft materials to promote effective wound repair is large. Examples of chronic or seriously deficient wounds include pressure sores diabetic skin ulcers, venous stasis ulcers, burn injury, and defects arising following tumor excision. In the United States alone, there are 100,000 hospital-treated burns per year and 600,000 cases of surgical skin excision — burn wounds costing an estimated $70 million per annum. The age-related problem of nonhealing dermal wounds is far larger, with 11-12 million patients being treated in the United States. This will become a greater problem as the population ages. Up to 15% of diabetic patients develop foot ulcers, leading to 50,000 amputations per year (U.S.). Almost half will die or lose the opposite leg within 3 years. Clearly, the clinical problem of dermal ulceration is huge — and likely to grow in Europe, Asia, and the United States.
