The Food and Drug Administration approved a new product Wednesday to repair cartilage defects in the knee.
Here are four things to know.
1. Cartilage defects can occur from the overuse or straining of the knee beyond its normal range of motion.
2. The product, Maci, relies on tissue engineering to grow cells on scaffolds using healthy cartilage tissue from a patient's own knee, according to an FDA news release.
3. The patient's tissue cells are expanded and placed on a bioresorbable collagen membrane, which is then implanted over the damaged area of the knee.
4. Cambridge, Mass.-based Vericel Corp. developed the product.
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