Restoration of joint function through subchodral delivery of therapeutics

膝关节是一个复杂的器官，它依赖于健康的软骨来实现无痛关节和正常的关节功能。软骨受损会导致关节疼痛和僵硬，丧失生活质量，最终导致患者寻求临床帮助。为了在裸露的骨骼上重新生长软骨，许多外科医生使用一种名为微骨折的关节镜技术，从软骨损伤的底部诱导出血，并刺激自然的软骨修复反应。如果成功，这些所谓的“表面处理”程序可以重新稳定关节，减缓骨性关节炎的进展。为了提高目前的护理标准，我们开发了治疗性植入物，这种植入物由患者全血与含有氨基葡萄糖的生物聚合物壳聚糖混合制成。我们的研究表明，壳聚糖通过以下方式帮助修复受损的骨骼和软骨

The knee is a complex organ that depends on healthy cartilage for pain-free articulation and proper joint function. Damaged cartilage can lead to joint pain and stiffness, loss of quality of life, and eventually lead a patient to seek clinical help. To re-grow cartilage over areas of exposed bone, many surgeons use an arthroscopic technique called microfracture to induce bleeding from the base of the cartilage lesion and stimulate a natural cartilage-repair response. When successful, these so-called "resurfacing" procedures can re-stabilize the joint and slow the progression of osteoarthritis. To improve the current standard of care, we have developed therapeutic implants which are made of patient whole blood mixed with chitosan, a biopolymer that contains glucosamine. Our research has shown that chitosan helps repair damaged bone and cartilage by