This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Study: Synthetic polymer scaffold to treat focal defects deemed safe for opposing cartilage
Researchers confirmed through gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage that implantation of synthetic polymer scaffold into osteochondral lesions of the knee did not adversely impact the opposing or surrounding surface.
“Implantation of the TruFit plug (Smith & Nephew; Andover, Mass.) in osteochondral lesions does not damage the opposing or surrounding surface, and newly formed tissue inside the plug has cartilage-like [gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage] dGEMRIC characteristics 12 months after implantation,” Daniël B.F. Saris, MD, PhD, and colleagues wrote in the study abstract. “The implantation of synthetic TruFit plugs is safe for the opposing cartilage, an item that is frequently discussed when using such materials to treat focal cartilage defects.”
Daniël B.F. Saris
Saris and colleagues measured the TruFit plugs in 13 patients using dGEMRIC. At 12 months, the average dGEMRIC index as measured by T1gd, or the MRI relaxation time per region of interest (ROI), in the TruFit plug was comparable to cartilage in the femur and the surrounding ROIs.
For articulating and nonarticulating ROIs, the average T1gd was higher than in TruFit, femur or surrounding ROIs but there was no difference between articulating and nonarticulating ROIs and tibia ROIs, according to the abstract.
Disclosure: This study was funded by the TeRM Smart Mix Program of The Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.