Extended healing validation of an artificial tendon to connect the quadriceps muscle to the Tibia: 180-day study

Whenever a tendon or its bone insertion is disrupted or removed, existing surgical techniques provide a temporary connection or scaffolding to promote healing, but the interface of living to non-living materials soon breaks down under the stress of these applications, if it must bear the load more than acutely. Patients are thus disabled whose prostheses, defect size, or mere anatomy limit the availability or outcomes of such treatments. Our group developed the OrthoCoupler™ device to join skeletal muscle to prosthetic or natural structures without this interface breakdown. Melvin AJ, Litsky AS, Mayerson JL, Stringer K, Juncosa-Melvin N.

J Orthop Res. 2011 Dec 16. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22179930 PDF