Israel-Made Healing Knee Implant Used For First Time In US

By Ariel Grossman, NoCamels July 27, 2023 2 minutes

(Courtesy Towfiqu barbhuiya/Pexels)

A knee implant that regenerates cartilage and bone made by an Israeli startup has just been used for the first time in the United States.

CartiHeal develops implants for the treatment of cartilage problems and osteochondral defects (damage involving both the cartilage and underlying bone) in knee joints.

When the Agili-C implant is inserted, blood infiltrates its porous surface and makes it biodegrade over time, which causes cells to adhere to the surface and create new bone and cartilage.

Damaged cartilage is not capable of regrowing or healing itself, however the bone tissue underneath can help stimulate new growth under specific conditions. CartiHeal says that it has created the only implant that can promote natural growth of cartilage and its underlying bone.

An illustration of the Agili-C implant being inserted in a knee joint (Courtesy)

Prior to receiving approval by the US Food and Drug Administration, the Agili-C was implanted in over 400 patients with cartilage lesions in the knee, ankle, and great toe in a series of clinical trials.

Dr. Ken Zaslav, a specialist in Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at Northwell Health in New York, was the first physician in the US to implant the Agili-C in a patient.

“We are thrilled to share the Agili-C technology with the surgical community with a goal for it to reach every surgical facility in the US and beyond,” said Nir Altschuler, CartiHeal’s Founder and CEO.

“This is a milestone achievement for everyone at CartiHeal and we would like to congratulate Dr. Zaslav on successfully performing our first commercial case in the US.”

Dr. Zaslav said: “Agili-C is a technology I and others in the surgical community have been watching and waiting on for over 10 years.”

CartiHeal was founded in 2009, and is based in Kfar Saba, central Israel.