BME students and faculty selected as JBME Editors’ Choice Paper for 2016

Congratulations to BME Ph.D. students, Emily H. Lakes and Andrea M. Matuska, whose paper “Mechanical Integrity of a Decellularized and Laser Drilled Medial Meniscus” was selected as Editors’ Choice Selection for 2016 from the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering (JBME). In addition, BME faculty Kyle D. Allen, assistant professor and associate chair for undergraduate studies and Peter S. McFetridge, associate professor and Tim Brahm Term Professorship, are also authors on this article.

“Mechanical Integrity of a Decellularized and Laser Drilled Medial Meniscus” serves as a proof of concept for generating a decellularized and laser drilled scaffold for knee meniscus replacements.  Since the knee meniscus has limited capacity to self-repair, creating a long-lasting meniscus replacement may reduce the incidence of osteoarthritis after meniscus damage.  An ideal meniscus replacement would have high initial strength to withstand physiologic loading, in addition to long-term survival in the joint.  Thus, an allograft meniscus was chosen to maintain tissue structure and strength, and laser drilling was used to increase tissue porosity and encourage cellular ingrowth.  To test feasibility, this work evaluated the mechanics of this scaffold and found the mechanical properties largely stayed within physiological ranges.  Thus, this meniscus scaffold may provide short term mechanical strength, while increasing the porosity to improve long-term survival in the joint.

The Journal of Biomechanical Engineering reports research results involving the application of mechanical engineering principles to the improvement of human health. The scope of relevant topics ranges from basic biology to biomedical applications and includes theoretical, computational, experimental, and clinical studies. Only 10 papers out of over 100 that appeared in the journal in 2016 were selected, representing those that the editorial board felt best exemplified the high quality and significance of work in JBME. The list will be published in the Annual Special Issue in February 2017.