Effects of radiofrequency energy on human articular cartilage: an analysis of 5 systems.

Background: Previous radiofrequency work has not rigidly controlled energy application to the articular cartilage, giving uncertain results published to date.Hypothesis: At minimal settings, radiofrequency probes cause cell death in measurable areas when applied to human articular cartilage.Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.Methods: Simulating operating room conditions, 5 commercially available radiofrequency probes were attached to a customized jig to standardize a minimal contact pressure of each probe tip to 2.0 g. Keeping all variables the same, probes were placed on specific points of fresh grade II human cartilage with treatment times of 1 and 3 seconds at the manufacturer’s recommended settings. Grade III cartilage was also tested with a treatment time of 3 seconds, and grade II cartilage was studied with the probe held 1 mm off the cartilage surface. Cartilage was blindly analyzed by confocal microscopy using a live/dead cell viability assay to determine the extent of cell death.Results: R...