I-Corps: Hydrogels for Intervertebral Disc Repair

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to provide a reliable treatment method for patients with intervertebral disc herniations undergoing spine surgery. There are approximately half a million individuals who undergo a discectomy procedure each year, where each procedure costs an estimated $15,000-$50,000. Studies on healthcare economics found that for every 100 patients undergoing the procedure, approximately $300,000 is spent on revision surgeries due to the failure of the initial surgery (reherniation). Therefore, of the total population undergoing discectomy each year, there is the potential to save $1.4 billion annually through prevention of revision surgeries if reherniation can be prevented. Additionally, using this hydrogel technology to localize other reparative implants inside the intervertebral disc would enable more therapies to potentially obtain regulatory approval and improve the quality of spine repair. Commercialization of the hydrogel technology will allow the development and clinical use of a variety of biologic and mechanical implants for spine repair.This I-Corps project further develops injectable biomaterials for sealing defects and securing implant devices in minimally invasive procedures with emphasis on spinal applications. Intervertebral discs are cartilaginous tissues in the spine that connect adjacent vertebra, absorb shock and allow flexibility during motion. In intervertebral disc degeneration, lesions in the stiff outer tissue allow the gelatinous inner tissue to herniate and compress surrounding nerves. Discectomy, the current standard intervention for intervertebral disc degeneration, relieves pain but does not actively heal the diseased tissue. Clinical research has found significant reherniation rates following discectomy procedures with various efforts attempted to use repair implants that prevent reherniation and restore lost disc tissue. These implant materials and devices are not tightly secured within the disc, and thus current strategies are often flawed by reherniation around the implant or migration of the implant itself. This project is developing injectable hydrogels to secure disc repair implants, effectively preventing migration of the implants and herniation of disc material. In pre-clinical studies, hydrogels used with other devices prevented herniation and largely restored native intervertebral disc mechanical properties.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.