Method for tissue expansion using pulsatile motion

Abstract

A method of increasing the rate of expansion of tissue area and volume, either in vivo or in vitro, which comprises preparing a tissue for expansion and subjecting the tissue to stretching forces, wherein the stretching forces are alternatively increased and decreased to provide alternating periods of stretch and relax cycles.

What we claim is:  
     
         1 . A method of increasing the rate of expansion of tissue area and volume for a given expansion force, either in vivo or in vitro, which comprises: 
 preparing a tissue for expansion, and    subjecting said tissue to stretching forces that alternatively increase and decrease over multiple cycles during a period of tissue expansion.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said stretching forces are reduced during a relax phase to less than 0.9 times the maximum stretching force applied during a stretch phase.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the relax phase has a minimum stretching force of zero.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said tissue is an elongated tissue selected from the group consisting of tendon, ligament, blood vessel, nerve, ureter, and bowel tissue.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein said stretching forces stretch said tissue primarily in one dimension.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said tissue comprises a skin or mucosal segment.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein said stretching forces stretch said tissue primarily in two dimensions.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein said skin segment is mammalian skin.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said skin segment is human skin.