COLUMBIA, Mo. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Torn cartilage in the knee can be
painful and often times difficult to repair, but a new device is helping
those hard to treat tears heal themselves.
Tackling, pivoting, cutting. Playing college football is hard on the body.
Starting right guard, number 78, Kurtis Gregory, knows that all too well.
“My rear end hit the floor and I just kinda felt something that didn’t seem
right,” Gregory told Ivanhoe.
Gregory tore his meniscus -- the cushion of cartilage in the knee that
provides padding and stability to the joint.
“Once the meniscus is torn, unless it’s repaired anatomically you will have
altered function in the knee," Steve Kane, M.D., chief of orthopedic sports
medicine at the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia, Mo.,
told Ivanhoe.
“I couldn’t even walk to practice,” Gregory said.
Torn menisci are often difficult to repair or irreparable and removed --
resulting in joint pain that can lead to arthritis. But now researchers have
found a way to help torn menisci heal themselves. Doctor Jimi Cook -- a
veterinarian -- has been testing a new device -- called a BioDuct -- in some
furry knees.
“Dogs knees and human knees are really comparable both in the problem that
occurs and the way that we treat them," Jimi Cook, DVM, Ph.D., director of
the Comparative Orthopaedic Laboratory at the University of Missouri, told
Ivanhoe.
Together, Dr. Cook and Dr. Kane conducted research that lead to the FDA
approval of BioDuct in humans. BioDuct works by acting as tunnel to
transport cells and blood from the vascular outer part of a meniscus to the
site of the tear, which doesn't receive blood flow.
“We’re actually kind of plumbing the meniscus. The cells and the blood
supply to allow them to heal is just not there in that tissue, so this
device actually bring that in a directed manner,” Dr. Cook said.
The device is implanted arthroscopically and is bioabsorbable, so it doesn’t
need to be removed. With adequate blood supply, a meniscus tear can heal
itself completely in less than 12 weeks -- getting everyone back on their
feet pain free!
Dr. Kane says the BioDuct is ready to be used to treat human meniscus tears
and will be widely available within the next few months.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Schwartz Biomedical
http://www.schwartzbiomedical.com
Dr. Jimi Cook
http://www.columc.missouri.edu
