Intellicell Facts
THE SCIENCE
The proprietary IntelliCell® process yields millions upon millions of the Vascular Fraction Cells. VFC cells include autologous pluripotent adult stem cells, endothelial cells, progenitor cells, fibroblast cells, red blood cells, white blood cells, and many growth factors found in the vascular tissue that is the basis for the Vascular Fraction Cells.
Researchers over the globe are examining the multiple functions of these cell populations. IntelliCell and many others will be conducting further research into many disease conditions that continue to remain problematic to clinicians and patients alike. One of the areas under study include osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis affects nearly 21 million people in the United States and results in 25% of patient visits to their primary care physician. Early anecdotal evidence suggests that VFC cells may be helpful in treating this condition and clinical trials are being planned for 2012 under the direction of Dr. James Andrews, the noted orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine physician.
Researchers are reporting that VFC cells, also known as ADSC’s, are showing great promise for future treatments. Among the areas under study include multiple sclerosis, myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, non-healing diabetic wound ulcers, Type 2 diabetes, autism, dermal regeneration for burns, scars, and aesthetic treatment. This is only a small portion of areas under study within the industry.
Why the Excitement Over IntelliCell® BioSciences?
The autologous Vascular Fraction Cells developed by IntelliCell® have several unique advantages:
- As an autologous product, the donor of the tissue and the recipient of the cells are the same person. This fact highly reduces problems commonly associated with allogenic products. The risks of rejection are greatly reduced. The risks of allergic reaction are also highly reduced.
- IntelliCell® does not culture, grow, or expand the cells in any way. This is important to clinicians and patients alike. There is no growth serum used in the process, such as growing cells in bovine serum and there are no enzymatic agents in use, such as collagenese. IntelliCell® thinks that its process results in a minimal manipulation of the originating vascular tissue and the final cellular product. Ultrasound, which has been in clinical use for decades, is the method by which IntelliCell® is able to obtain the Vascular Fraction Cells.
- The IntelliCell® process also results in much higher cellular yields when compared to other methods in clinical research use today.
- For the clinician using the IntelliCell® product, it is a same day procedure. This is more convenient for the patient and the clinician.
How does the IntelliCell® process work in practice:
The patient visiting the clinic will receive a mini-liposuction procedure, under local anesthetic, and the physician will remove approximately 60 cc’s of adipose (fat) tissue from the abdomen. Adipose tissue is primarily composed of the adipocyte tissue (80%) and a network of mostly capillaries that surround the adipocytes.
The IntelliCell® process uses ultrasound to separate the network of capillaries from the adipocytes. In a closed sterile process that is very similar to obtaining cells from bone marrow, the vascular tissue after it has been separated from the adipocytes, is washed in a sterile area and placed in a centrifuge and spun at low levels for several minutes. The actual fat tissue that was obtained via the liposuction procedure is discarded. The autologous vascular cells drop to the bottom of the collection container and are prepared for quality testing.
Unlike most companies that use other types of equipment, IntelliCell® uses a flow cytometer to check each sample for cell viability and the cell count for each patient. This is an important quality step that permits IntelliCell® to generate the safety data that is required to adhere to good laboratory practices.
The entire process takes about 1 hour to complete. The cells are then returned to the physician and the patient treatment can begin. Some of the cells are placed into an IV drip bag for administration. The IV treatment takes about 20 minutes. Depending on the areas being treated and the type of injury, cells can be also be placed locally.
Testing Using a Flow Cytometer
This is a laser that measures cell count and viability:
IntelliCell® Vascular Fraction Cells
VFC cellular composition:
Adult autologous stem cells (Mesenchymal)
Endothelial Cells
Fibroblasts
Growth Factors
Pericytes
Pre-adipocytes cells
Smooth muscle cells
Blood Cells from the capillaries supply including:
B&T; cells
Erythrocytes
Hematopoietic stem cells Endothelial progenitor cells
Macrophages
Mast Cells
Monocytes
Natural killer (NK) cells
Cryo-Preservation
When the autologous cells have been processed by IntelliCell™, the cellular yield is typically quite large in number, usually more than is required for a single treatment. The remaining cells can be frozen by cryopreservation for use at a later date when new treatments and procedures are shown to be safe and effective by the medical and regulatory communities.
