Anterior Crutiate Ligament Engineering
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) plays a very important role in knee stability and movement. There are between 100,000 and over 250,000 patients every year diagnosed with ACL disruptions with approximately 50,000 ligament reconstructions performed annually. It is the most commonly injured ligament of the knee because of its poor healing potential. Severe damage requires
surgical replacement of ACL completely.
             In a recent study of 17,397 patients with a total of 19,530 sport injuries over a 10-year period, 37% of the patients had knee injuries. Of the 37%, 45.4% of these cases had damaged ACL, and 33.9% of them required surgery. The success rates for these surgeries and long term recovery are in the range of 85-90%.
Bihan Chen                                          BME 240: Introduction to Clinical Medicine