Adipose tissue yields an abundance of regenerative cells

Compared to any other source, the vast amounts of adipose tissue (depots of fat for storing energy) especially in the abdominal region, by sheer volume of availability, ensure an abundance in numbers of regenerative cells ranging in the millions per unit volume. The sheer numbers available also has the added advantage of not needing to be cultured in a laboratory over days in order to get the desired number of regenerative cells to achieve what is called “therapeutic threshold” i.e. therapeutic benefit. In addition, harvesting regenerative cells from adipose tissue through simple, minimally invasive liposuction under local anesthesia is relatively easier, painless and poses minimal risk to the patient compared to all other possible methods.

Our 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. 

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 

Key Points:

• The process we use: 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.
• It is a same day procedure. This is more convenient for the patient and the clinician.

The Process:

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, We / 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 us to generate the safety data that is required to adhere to good laboratory practices.

The entire process takes about 1 hour to complete. 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. For example, a case of Osteoarthritis will have an injection of the cells directly into the joint.

How are the stem cells administered?

Our physicians will administer the stem cells via a combination of routes:

• IV infusion of up to 70% of the cells

• Dermal injections for dermal regeneration with improved lines and wrinkles.
  Dermal injections for acne scars.
  Dermal injections for burns and ulcerated wounds.
  
  

• Knee, elbow, and hands in terms of injections for arthritis.
• Knee or Hip injections for cartilage repair or improvement for cartilage loss/ damage.