Project Description:

Autologous fat grafting (AFG) is a minimally invasive plastic surgery technique performed over one million times yearly where a patient’s own fat tissue is used to repair or enhance different areas of their body. AFG involves fat extraction via liposuction, purification, and syringe-mediated rejection. Despite autologous fat’s 100% biocompatibility, the patient’s volume retention at the grafted site is highly variable, hinging on the health and regenerative ability of the transplanted fat cells, and the effective removal of contaminants such as oil, blood, and excess fluids. These factors are often compromised during manual lipoaspirate processing, leading to poor patient satisfaction and the need for subsequent corrective procedures. Thus, plastic surgeons need an autologous fat harvesting method that selectively gathers lipoaspirate while preserving its regenerative properties in order to maintain adipocyte viability. We propose a novel AFG system that is automated, reusable, and easy-to-use, designed to consistently produce high-quality fat for grafting.

Project Photo:

The AdiPURE icon represents the core of our technology. The patient’s own adipose (fat) tissue is extracted, purified, and used as a natural filler for contouring parts of the body, represented by the looping arrow.

Student Team Members

• Kevin Nguyen
• Serena Banghar
• Meera Bhat
• Jayvik Joshi
• Farid Shahid
• Ethan Abeiev
• Miranda Qing
• Armelle Varillas

Course Faculty

• Michelle Zwernermann

Project Mentors, Sponsors, and Partners

• Hooman Soltanian, MD, FACS
• Michele Manahan, MD
• Salih Colakoglu, MD
• Warren Grayson, PhD
• Evangelia Bellas, PhD
• Jeffrey Gimble, MD, PhD
• Sashank Reddy, MD, PhD
• Luke Boyce