More than 400,000 patients worldwide require ligament reconstruction surgery due to anterior cruciate ligament rupture every year. Artificial ligaments are medical products designed to replace the damaged or ruptured natural ligaments. With an increasing focus on sports injuries and the emergence of an aging population, the artificial ligament market is rapidly expanding. However, most existing artificial ligaments are imported from overseas (e.g. LARS), made of inert materials and lack sufficient biodegradability, leading to the formation of small particles due to wear in the body, which can trigger foreign body reactive inflammation. Additionally, artificial ligaments lack biological activity, such as promoting cell adhesion and enhancing graft-bone interface healing, resulting in a lack of ability to achieve biological healing. Currently, there is no artificial ligament in the global market that has both good mechanical strength and a balance of biocompatibility, biodegradability, and biological activity.

With ongoing improvements and innovations in artificial ligament technology, there are significant opportunities in the market. These opportunities include collaborations with clinical professionals and research institutions, the development of high-performance artificial ligament products, offering personalized solutions, and further expanding market share. The artificial ligament market is a field full of potential and opportunities. With increasing attention to health and sports injuries, coupled with ongoing advancements in medical technology, the market is poised to continue its stable growth. we have successfully developed a prototype of bioactive artificial ligament that can effectively promote ligament-bone integration in vivo. This ligament holds the potential to offer new options and improved postoperative outcomes for ligament reconstruction.

The potential impact of this project is significant, as the use of biodegradable and bioactive materials in ligament reconstruction surgery has the potential to reduce complications and improve the outcomes. The interdisciplinary approach used in this project could also pave the way for future collaborations between materials scientists, engineers, and medical professionals to develop innovative solutions for challenging biomedical problems.

The target beneficiaries are patients who suffered anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture and need to undergo ACL reconstruction surgery.

2024

Healthcare, Well-being