Most people over the age of 30 have some sort of problem with their knees making walking, running or playing sport uncomfortable, and thousands of people each year have surgery to remove damaged cartilage from within their knees. New research published in the journal Physics in Medicine and Biology, from the Institute of Physics, describes a novel laser system that could help surgeons perform the minimal level of surgery needed to produce an optimal result. Their function is to act as shock absorbers and allow the hinge-like joint to move freely. However, bending the knee becomes painful if this cartilage is torn or damaged.
Surgeons then operate to remove the offending part of the cartilage.
This shows how healthy the tissue is because if the cartilage is damaged, protein breaks down and water accumulates. Surgeon Jonathan Schaffer believes that during an operation, laser light can be shined onto cartilage inside the knee by using an optical fibre. The fibre would pass through the hole drilled by the surgeon during keyhole surgery. The surgeon could then decide which bits of the cartilage need removing and thus leave as much healthy tissue behind as possible. Schaffer adds that most knee surgery is performed by 'keyhole' techniques, so an advance in this field could find wide use.