Martha Murray, assistant professor and researcher in orthopedic surgery, Children's Hospital in Boston
Tom Brady may not need knee surgery after all. That is, if Martha Murray, an assistant professor and researcher in orthopedic surgery at Children’s Hospital in Boston, has anything to do with it. Murray has developed a promising new gel matrix that acts as a scaffold for the ACL healing process. Murray’s gel is in preclinical testing and will begin human trials once that work is validated.
Injuries to the ACL — or the anterior cruciate ligament in medical circles — are common in athletes. Unfortunately for patients, the ACL will not heal itself, nor can doctors repair the ligament by suturing it back together. It needs to be replaced entirely. Patients currently require knee surgery to reconstruct the ligament using a tendon graft from elsewhere on the body or from a cadaver.
Recovery time can be long and Murray noted that new research shows that patients who have undergone ACL surgery are at much greater risk for early arthritis later in life. Fluid in the knee just happens to wash away any attempt at cellular repair. “There is nothing for the tissue to grab on to; nothing to scab over,” said Murray.
The gel matrix would not have been possible without the help of engineering students at MIT. Murray needed a novel delivery device to inject the gel into the knee. The problems were related to timing issues with the setting of the gel and tissue obstruction. Hence came the “Glue Gun,” the name aptly given to the injection tool they custom-built for Murray.
It was the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT) that brought together Murray and Alex Slocum, director of the experimental studies group at MIT and a professor of mechanical engineering.
“We used a unique program here at MIT using our graduate students. CIMIT introduced Dr. Murray to us as a customer and we got a group of our geeks to work on the project for about 12 weeks. Basically, we produced a pretty sophisticated prototype that Children’s now has manufactured for her work,” said Slocum.
Murray’s group has been validating their work on pigs’ knees. Well-established firms have been tackling ACL repair problems for some time but with different approaches. Where Murray’s gel works to allow the ACL to heal itself, Serica Technologies Inc. is developing ligament grafts and surgical meshes — made from a protein produced by silkworms — for implantation. Their material would be used instead of natural grafts or to strengthen the ACL after surgery. Serica CEO Gregory Altman started the Medford-based company in 1998 after rupturing his own ACL playing football at Tufts University.
Medical device giant Covidien Ltd. also has a growing sports surgery business. It develops products aimed at the reconstruction of the ACL, with technology acquired from the purchase of Littleton-based Scandius BioMedical Inc.
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