1st International Symposium on Wound Healing And Technology The 1st International Symposium on Wound Healing And Technology (WHAT I), August 28-30, 2006, at the University of Washington will bring together scientists, physicians and engineers from academia and industry to overview a broad spectrum of technology advances in wound healing and the barriers that remain. WHAT I is significantly different from other wound-healing conferences in that this symposium will emphasize advanced approaches to wound healing using biomaterials, controlled release, tissue engineering, and other engineering methodologies. The conference will focus on the collaboration between materials scientists, engineers, biologists, and physicians involved in laboratory and clinical research to advance wound healing technology. Also, translational research will be spotlighted with a number of company presentations and audience participation by industrial scientists. Wound healing is a significant area for discussion because researchers and scientists still lack a clear fundamental understanding of chronic wound failures, despite decades of basic research. Even when underlying mechanisms to wound-healing are understood, significant problems persist, especially with patients suffering from chronic wounds and severe burns. Tissue-engineered constructs have entered the marketplace, but the costs are high, and the benefits limited. Compromised cosmetic outcomes are unfortunately the norm. Major challenges that remain are to induce tissue regeneration and the formation of pliable, mature dermis in full-thickness wounds and to control infection. Improved biocompatibility of materials used in wound care and tissue engineering is now possible. Communication and discussion of these new ideas is central to this meeting. Another powerful technology is the controlled-release of pharmaceutical agents. To date, only one prescription drug has been approved to induce healing of chronic wounds-despite more than 15 years of R&D and investigations of numerous candidate compounds. It is widely suspected that failure to deliver an effective dose at the correct time is a major underlying deficiency of wound-healing pharmaceuticals. Thus, WHAT I will bring clinician thought-leaders, basic academic scientists, and industrial leaders together to share bold ideas and foster cross-cutting collaboration. 1st International Symposium on Wound Healing And Technology Wound healing is a critical area for discussion because we still lack a clear fundamental understanding of chronic wound failures, despite decades of basic research. In order to advance not only our knowledge, but to develop materials and technology for the market, it is imperative that materials scientists, engineers, biologists, and physicians involved in laboratory and clinical research work together. Communication and discussion of these problems and new ideas for how we can address them are central to this meeting. ? ? ?
