In the 21st century, novel therapeutics will be established. Controlled drug delivery has already been commercialized for limited uses. Gene therapy in human patients is being investigated experimentally. Furthermore, robotic surgery systems, as well as computer-aided surgery navigation systems, are commercially available. Tissue engineering was first proposed in the 1980s by a chemist, R. Langer, and a surgeon, J. P. Vacanti1. The key technology is the use of biodegradable polymer scaffolds, preformed in the target tissue shape, for cell seeding2, as demonstrated in the well-publicized reconstruction of cartilage tissues for the growth of human ears on mice. By combining preformed biodegradable polymer scaffolds and specific cell types, various tissues including cartilage, bone, and blood vessels have been reconstructed, although, so far, therapeutic use has been very limited.
