Burn victims such as this one at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, could one day be treated with a spray gun that spreads stem cells on burned flesh. (Eric Gay/Associated Press)

A spray gun that shoots stem cells on damaged skin is successfully treating burn victims, researchers say.

Dr. Jorg Gerlach of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh developed the technique, which makes a second-degree burn — a burn that penetrates the entire outer layer of the skin into the inner skin layer — disappear within days.

"What we're doing is taking the cells, isolating them and, in the same procedure on the same day, we're putting the cells on to the wound," Gerlach said.

"The most critical cells are present, and we are using those cells right away from the patient. We just need to take care that we are distributing the cells nicely over the wound."

The spray nozzle helps to cover the wounded area, just like a paint gun would cover a wall.

Normally, sheets of skin are grown over a month, and patients can die of infection during the wait. In contrast, the new approach takes just 90 minutes and burns can heal in as little as four days, Gerlach said.

The skin gun will be featured on the National Geographic Channel on Monday. The show looks at modern techniques of tissue engineering.