SIS Dr. Stephen Badylak holds newly developed material made from pig intestines that is being used in a clinical trial to replace damaged ligaments. The material can be configured into sheets that are as thin as two or three cells in the human body. While football players toss the pigskin on the field, physicians are using another part of the pig to tackle a common but serious knee injury associated with sports.
Clinical trials are under way to test a new material derived from pig intestines.
When inserted into the human body, the material may serve as a scaffold around which the body can regenerate damaged tissues, such as torn ligaments or tendons. Such knee injuries are common in skiers and also occur in sports such as soccer, basketball, volleyball and football. The injury occurs when a player suddenly decelerates or quickly stops while trying to change direction at the same time, causing an overextension of the knee joint in either direction. The new material offers hopes of a less invasive treatment and a more comfortable recovery for patients with such knee injuries, says Dr. Stephen Badylak, director of research for the Purdue Hillenbrand Biomedical Engineering Center . SIS is derived from the middle layers of the small intestine of pigs.