The Advanced Center for Cartilage Repair, Shoulder & Sports Injuries (ACCSS) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) conducts research on sports and cartilage injuries as well as the following joint preservation and joint replacement procedures that involve the shoulder, knee and hip.
- Cartilage and meniscal transplantation
- Custom knee joint replacement in young patients
- New medications for rheumatoid arthritis
- Minimally invasive joint replacement procedures
- Osteotomies
- Cartilage regeneration
- Shoulder arthroplasty
- Treatment for early knee arthritis
Clinical Trials
Brigham and Women’s Hospital is involved in clinical trials that investigate new cartilage repair techniques at the Cartilage Repair Center (CRC). The following is a list of the clinical trials that are underway.
Verify the Effectiveness of the NUsurface® (VENUS)
The VENUS study compares the NUsurface meniscus implant to non-surgical standard of care treatment (including physical therapy, injections, bracing). This implant is an artificial device made from polycarbonate-urethane (PCU) and reinforced with Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene fibers. It is designed to function similarly to a natural meniscus in distributing the contact pressure and joint load of the knee. This study is closed to enrollment and is no longer recruiting patients.
Flexion FX006
The Flexion FX006 clinical trial assesses the safety and tolerability of repeat administration of FX006 (two doses of 40 mg FX006) in patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. FX006 is an extended-release formulation of triamcinolone acetonide (TCA) for intravenous administration that is being developed for the treatment of patients with pain attributed to OA of the knee. FX006 delivers TCA to the synovial and peri-synovial tissues for approximately three months depending on the dose administered. This study is closed to enrollment and is no longer recruiting patients.
Atlas Knee System
This clinical trial assesses the Atlas Knee System in treating symptomatic patients with medial (inside) compartment knee osteoarthritis. The Atlas Knee System is designed to absorb excess joint load in the diseased medial compartment of the knee. The central spring component of the Atlas System provides compressive load absorption to treat symptoms of pain and to improve knee function. This study is closed to enrollment and is no longer recruiting patients.
Zimmer Biomet®
The primary objective of this study is to determine whether nSTRIDE Autologous Protein Solution (APS) is superior to saline in pain and function scores (change from baseline to 12 months post injection). Secondary objectives include determining whether nSTRIDE APS is superior to saline in improving patient-reported outcomes, including pain, stiffness, and quality of life in subjects with early-to-moderate symptomatic OA. Additionally, this study will evaluate change in joint morphology and APS output characteristics. Safety of nSTRIDE APS will be compared to saline following intraarticular knee injections in subjects with early-to-moderate symptomatic OA. This trial is enrolling. For more information please contact the office of Dr. Elizabeth Matzkin, the physician in charge of this study.
