Evaluation of Intraoperative Retention of Autologous Chondrocytes on Type I/III Collagen Scaffold (Ortho-ACI™) for Cartilage Repair

Methods and Materials We tested cell retention on the scaffold by confocal microscopy at 7, 15, 20, 40, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after seeding, and the molecular profile (collagen II, aggrecan, Sox9, HAPLN1) of chondrocytes seeded at 20 minutes and 4 days (preoperative seeding method). Fifteen OrthoACITM patients with 25 cartilage defects were assessed by arthroscopic or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Graft repair was graded as excellent, good, poor or no infill. Associations between repair outcome and case variables were also investigated.