This technology is a method to allow gentle bending of osteochondral allografts to match the curvature of the host recipient and thereby increase the effectiveness and availability of allograft transplants.
Osteochondral allografts are typically from the same originating joint and are currently subjected to donor-host anatomical matching. To achieve more frequent matching of donor-host anatomies and expand allograft availability to differing donor sites (e.g., from knee to thumb), bending of the subchondral bone in allografts has been proposed as a potential method. However, bending can result in cartilage strains that can lead to mechanical failure and cell death. Other methods with similar objectives include mosaicplasty or osteochondral autograft transfer system (OATS), whereby small cores of osteochondral autografts are used to fill a defect region in a joint, however this leaves gaps between osteochondral plugs in the site, compromising the integrity of repair.
This technology involves carving out grooves in subchondral bone to enable gentle bending of osteochondral allografts to alter their curvature and match to natural articular host layers. The method involves curvature matching from a database of donor allograft geometries and modeling to ensure allograft-specific strains will not be exceeded to preserve mechanical integrity and retain enough cartilage to maintain cell viability. The technology can be effective with surfaces that have convex, concave, and mixed (saddle-shaped) curvatures to increase the matching capabilities and viability window of osteochondral allografts.
This technology has been validated with finite element analysis.
IR CU14124, CU18414
Licensing Contact: Dovina Qu