A Preliminary in vivo Study of Artificial Meniscus Using the Uniaxial Oriented Reinforced Compressive Poly (vinyl alcohol) Hydrogel

For severe meniscus injury patients with the future problem of degenerative change or osteoarthrosis (OA) in knee joint, we have newly developed an artficial meniscus using the uniaxial oriented compressive reinforced polyvinyl alcohol-hydrogel (PVA-H). In the present study, the results up to six months after animal operation to assess the use of artificial meniscus using this compressive PVA-H were evaluated. Consequently, the results proved that new artificial meniscus can compensate for meniscal function and might be clinically applicable.