It is a matter of public record that the loss of tissue and organ functionality is very costly to treat, being estimated at some $350 to 400 billion dollars a year within the US alone, around 8% of total medical spending ­ ( Lysaght and O'Loughlin 2000 ­). ­ Such expenditure represents both a significant burden upon the health system and an enormous number of lives affected by serious disease or mortality.
The treatment of tissue deficiency is currently constrained, if not by financial implications, by the limited range of approaches to treatment currently available in most cases. ­ Once serious tissue damage has taken place it is unlikely that spontaneous recovery will take place other than in a few isolated cases. ­ Mechanical solutions can help in some cases, such as a heart-lung machine or a crutch, but these rarely restore functionality in a satisfactory and long-lasting manner. ­ This means that transplantation has become the mainstay of treatment, a strategy which has always been and is always likely to be significantly restricted by a lack of donor organs and tissues and dangers associated with tissue rejection and the transmission of disease.

Tissue Engineering thus aims to provide an alternative better means of treatment for tissue and organ damage through combining both biological and artificial components in such a way that a long-lasting repair is produced. ­ This rapidly-emerging field is strongly interdisciplinar y as it combines engineering techniques, materials science and biochemical expertise.