In our recent "Top 12 most amazing Israeli medical advances", we promised a top 10 list of the most exciting Israeli medical-device and pharmaceutical developments just around the corner.
Like the top 12, this list was also very difficult to narrow down, because Israeli breakthroughs in this field are a near-daily occurrence. Our top 10 is just the tip of the iceberg.
Implants for cartilage repair and regeneration
The most common treatments for cartilage injuries (e.g. microfracture and osteochondral grafting) fall short, as they result in generation of fibrocartilage, or "hyaline-like" cartilage, which does not have the biomechanical properties of original hyaline cartilage, and cannot withstand weight-bearing forces.
CartiHeal's first product, the Agili-C implant, is designed to regenerate cartilage and bone in bodily joints, by way of a minimally-invasive,
single-step arthroscopic procedure.
The implant's unique structure, comprising a coral scaffold with biological modifications, causes the implant to biodegrade.
CartiHeal has developed an innovative technology for regenerating hyaline cartilage (cartilage found in the weight bearing joints such as the knee, hip, and shoulder). Cartilage injury affects over 35 million people in the U.S. alone, and represents a major unmet need, as hyaline cartilage has very limited ability for self-repair, and cannot on its own heal after an injury. Therefore, cartilage injuries often cause severe pain and dysfunction. Also, research has shown that injuries to cartilage in the joints, if left untreated, lead to progressive joint changes and early onset of osteoarthritis.