# Achieving Integrative Cartilage Repair Success Under Low Intensity Ultrasound

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE · 2020 · $74,000

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Osteochondral grafts or Matrix-Assisted-Cell-Implantation (MACI) are promising strategies to treat chondral
lesions as articular cartilage does not heal spontaneously. One characteristic shared by intrinsic reparative
processes and surgical therapies is an apparent lack of lateral integration of repair or graft tissue with the host
cartilage that can lead to poor prognosis. The goal of this R03 project is to demonstrate the feasibility of
employing a relatively non-invasive adjunct such as continuous low-intensity ultrasound (cLIUS) to enhance
integration. Previous therapies have had varied levels of success with pulsed LIUS (pLIUS @ 1.5 MHz), but have
used an arbitrary treatment that doesn't take into account knee tissue properties or tissue response to LIUS. To
progress beyond the status quo that employs an empirically derived pLIUS at 1.5 MHz for in vivo applications,
first, our approach employs cLIUS as it couples more energy when compared to pLIUS. Importantly, our ongoing
innovative research represents a new and substantive departure from the status quo by shifting the focus to the
following: (1) identification of a clinically relevant tissue resonant frequency range of 3.8 ± 0.3 MHz, where cLIUS
induced bioeffects are maximized by accounting for the tissue properties, and (2) understanding of the
propagation of cLIUS at these higher frequencies in the joint space and in the vicinity of the defect to permit
optimal cLIUS regimens and route of delivery. Taken together, these innovations enable us to deliver therapeutic
dosages of cLIUS to enable cartilage repair. Based on our promising in vitro findings that demonstrate the cLIUS
to be chondroprotective and chondrpoinductive, our central hypothesis is that cLIUS will aid in the cartilage-to-
cartilage integration of critical sized defects in a rabbit model of subchondral injury by promoting migration and
enhancing chondrogenesis to a degree greater than approaches without cLIUS treatment. To test this, one
specific aim will be undertaken: 1: Demonstrate enhanced cartilage integration under LIUS. Our objective is to
demonstrate that cLIUS will achieve reproducible integrative cartilage repair and maintain normal articular
cartilage histologic and biomechanical characteristics in a rabbit model of chondral repair. Rabbits will be
euthanized after 4 and 12 weeks of cLIUS treatment, at which time cartilage regeneration and integration will be
assessed. In addition to non-stimulated controls, group comparison will be made with the standard US regimen
that uses pulsed US signal at 1.5 MHz with 1 kHz repeat. Successful completion of this work is expected to lead
to the development of a cLIUS-based regimen and delivery system capable of promoting integration at the graft
interface. This presents an exciting potential treatment modality for orthopedic surgeons attempting to treat
patients with this difficult clinical problem. This would, in turn, directly address the needs of 46 mill...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9917692
- **Project number:** 5R03AG062730-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE
- **Principal Investigator:** Anuradha Subramanian
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $74,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9917692

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9917692, Achieving Integrative Cartilage Repair Success Under Low Intensity Ultrasound (5R03AG062730-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9917692. Licensed CC0.

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