Scientists have hailed a ”breakthrough" technology capable of regrowing damaged organs and healing serious wounds with the single touch of a penny-sized pad.
The new device uses nanochips to reprogramme skin cells which then generate any type of cell necessary for medical treatment.
The non-invasive procedure takes less than a second and in laboratory trials was found to restore the function of badly damaged blood vessels within days.
Dubbed tissue nanotransfection (TNT), the technique works by placing a small pad of nanochips over a damaged area.
A small electric current then fires DNA into the skin cells, converting them into the specific building block cells of any other part of the body, such as arteries, or even organs like the heart.
It promises to transform the chances of patients in need of complex reconstructive surgery, as well as those whose organs are prematurely ageing.
The US researchers who created the technology say it could even be used as a weapon against neurological diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
They believe it will be possible to reprogramme skin cells to harvest brain cells in a peripheral part of the body, such as the arm, which can then be injected into the brain.
The team at Ohio State University have successfully trialled TNT on pigs and mice, with a reported success rate of 98 per cent.
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