NSF Award
2431820
The broader impact of this I-Corps project is based on the development of a minimally invasive, biomaterial filler that augments the current standard of care for patients with cartilage damage. Cartilage damage in the knee inevitably leads to a painful condition known as osteoarthritis which affects over 20 million people in the United States. There is currently no cartilage repair method suitable to repair the tissue following injury, or to halt/prevent progression towards osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis affects 36% of athletic populations and 94.4% of military populations following injury. For patients who are under 45 years of age, this means there are extremely limited options to delay the progression of the debilitating joint disease. Currently, the only straightforward solution surgeons cite as truly successful is a knee replacement, but this is not recommended until a patient is over the age of 65 due to the lifetimes of knee replacements and complications associated with revision surgery. The novel material explored in this project can be implanted to heal tissue defects, improving quality of life and preventing progression of knee joint degeneration.<br/><br/>This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of the technology. The solution is based on the development of a natural, two-part material for cartilage repair. The first component is a tightly packed slurry of small particles which are composed of the complex proteins found in human cartilage. The second component is a soft gel, that, when mixed with the particles and introduced to the temperature of the body, becomes a strong cartilage-like structure. The novel material forms tissue that closely mimics the natural layered structure of cartilage and the underlying bone. Additionally, the material is ‘flowable’ to allow for easy delivery to the injury. Initial analysis of the material has shown that the natural structure integrates well with the tissue around the injury and performs similarly to cartilage under loading and sliding – the key movements involved in the knee joint during everyday movement.<br/><br/>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.
