Associated with the publications: Cengiz I.F., Pereira H., Pitikakis M., Espregueira-Mendes J., Oliveira J.M., Reis R.L. (2017) Building the Basis for Patient-Specific Meniscal Scaffolds. In: Gobbi A., Espregueira-Mendes J., Lane J., Karahan M. (eds) Bio-orthopaedics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, and Cengiz Ibrahim Fatih, Joaquim Miguel Oliveira, and Rui Luís Reis. "Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine strategies for the treatment, of osteochondral lesions." 3D Multiscale Physiological Human. Springer, London, 2014. 25-47.
There is an unmet clinical need for repairing osteochondral (OC) lesions. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) strategies advance with the possibility of regenerating different tissues by means of using cells, scaffolds and growth factors, alone or together. The use of bioreactor systems for developing mature tissues in vitro is also appealing. This book chapter aims to overview the main aspects related to structure and functions of articular cartilage, subchondral bone, and bone. The components of the tissue engineering and the most relevant reports on their use for treating OC lesions are concisely covered. Several treatment strategies are available; however, the gold standard does not exist. The biofunctional knowledge of these tissues has been uncovered by the development of advanced characterization techniques including medical imaging allowing visualization from sub-cellular to macro level. These techniques have been helping scientists not only to understand how these tissues function but also to develop multiscale TERM strategies. Thus, this hot topic is also briefly discussed.
The current strategies for the total or partial meniscus replacement with allograft transplantation or scaffold implantation need to be improved to overcome the limitations in the clinics. In addition to the required biological and biomechanical performance of the implants, the size and the shape of the implant are critical for the success of the treatment. The commercial implants are re-sized by cutting at the time of surgery according to the patient’s need; however, not completely in a 3D manner. The meniscal implants should advance beyond the traditional biomaterial concept by being patient-specific not only in terms of size and shape but regarding the cells and biologics derived from the patient. Herein, we overview the recent reports related to manufacturing of patient-specific meniscal implants.
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