• Rebuilding stronger knees after injury or a surgical procedure is now possible with low-intensity ultrasound therapy.
  • Research performed by Dr. Anu Subramanian, a professor of Chemical and Material Engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), promises to build stronger knees with low-intensity ultrasound therapy.
  • Over the years, he investigated and explored the effects of ultrasound on cartilage regrowth.
  • Cartilage is a protein-rich matrix with significantly fewer cells that works as a cushion between the knee bones.
  • Cartilage cannot regrow itself, so orthopaedic surgeons used to practise creating microfractures to produce blood rich in stem cells.
  • Continuous low-intensity ultrasound (cLIUS) therapy is a cost-effective treatment that regrows quality post-operative cartilage in body joints.
  • Researchers surgically created microfracture (minor defect is created, tiny holes are drilled, and cartilage is debrided) defects in the knee joints of rabbits.
  • “The rabbit research was successful which inferred ultrasound promotes the integration of newly grown tissue with the surrounding native tissue,” says Dr. Subramanian.
  • This was done to harness the endogenous supply of mesenchymal stem cells, which have the potential to heal themselves.
  • Dr. Subramian says, "Immflamation during the recovery and regeneration phase plays an important role in modulating a repairing outcome."
  • Now working on creating ex-vivo multi-tissue models to help understand and treat joint trauma, scientists are now addressing long-term cartilage repair.
  • Low-cost ultrasound therapy is now further studied to advance technologies towards human use.

Source - Medical news