The intricacies of this process require input from many types of scientists, including the problem solving expertise of engineers, hence the name tissue engineering.
Tissue engineering crosses numerous medical and technical specialties.
Cell biologists, molecular biologists, biomaterial engineers, computer-assisted designers, microscopic imaging specialists, robotics engineers, and developers of equipment such as bioreactors, where tissues are grown and nurtured, are all involved in the process of tissue engineering. Tissue engineers in the United States and abroad have set out to grow virtually every type of human tissue - liver, bone, muscle, cartilage, blood vessels, heart muscles, nerves, pancreatic islets, and more. Commercially produced skin is already available for use in treating patients with diabetic ulcers and burns. Many current medical therapies may be improved upon by tissue engineering with significant financial savings. Take organ transplantation, for example.