Conformable Orthopaedic Repair Approach

To address the DHA need for a new treatment approach for osteochondral defects that is able to conform to a wide range of complex geometries, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Conformable Orthopaedic Repair Approach (CORA). It is based on minimally invasive delivery of a gel that can be stabilized in situ at the defect site. Specifically, the innovation in our approach is using a gel-based repair and providing appropriate biomimetic cues in the cartilage and bone regions. These innovations will enable CORA to provide a conformable, minimally invasive, non-autologous, and scalable treatment platform requiring minimal surgeon training and existing surgical tools for its implementation. In Phase I, POC will demonstrate the feasibility of CORA in vitro by developing the CORA gel-based repair and assessing the resulting tissue for markers of cartilage and bone. In Phase II, POC plans to test CORA in a relevant animal model and demonstrate its feasibility for intra-operative manipulation and for use in a wide range of osteochondral repair geometries through application of a minimally-invasive procedure.