New function of collagen
In the NBA, stars have suffered injuries, big and small. The most frightening injury is a ruptured Achilles tendon, which is almost an extreme injury. Even if players can recover from such injuries, it is almost impossible for them to return to their previous peak performance .Many of the league's superstars have suffered ruptures in their Achilles tendons that have caused them to slip so dramatically that they have had to retire. But Jeff Ruberti, a professor of bioengineering at Northeastern University, has found a new way to treat a ruptured Achilles tendon that relies on collagen.
This thought begins when professor Ruberti ruptured his own Achilles tendon which was caused by one exercise,right now, there are only a few tendon repair ways for choose, and they are always not able to help patients fully regain their previous mobility. The surgeons usually let the tendon heal on its own or stitch the torn loose end together. These two ways have their own disadvantages, he choose to look for a better way to repair tendon, he chooses collagen, it’s the connective tissue that connects most of our bodies, he thinks that manipulate the collagen can help accelerate the recover time. Study shows that, when collagen is stretched, it assembles itself into a natural load-bearing structure. That means when you pull it, it's more stable than when you don't pull it. By putting collagen molecules into the wound and applying the appropriate load, the damaged tendon may heal faster than existing methods.
To achieve this, Ruberti’s Lab processes collagen into two different forms. The first is a gelatinous substance called metastable collagen, which provides loose collagen molecules to injured tendons. The other is a stable, dense collagen pad that wraps around the tendon and holds the gel in place.”Imaging the broken Achilles tendon as one broken rope”, he says”Stable collagen is like a piece of tape that wraps around the broken area and holds the two ends together. But in the tape, we put a gel of high density collagen molecules that can help repair the tendon. If we stimulate the calf muscle to contract slightly, the tendon will begin to absorb these molecules and complete the repair of the tendon itself”.
Professor Rubert now considers about promoting this technology to the market, he hopes that he will be able to quickly repair injuries for people who are doing high-intensity work, not only reducing their fear of repeated injuries, but also allowing them to quickly return to their high-intensity work.
This thought begins when professor Ruberti ruptured his own Achilles tendon which was caused by one exercise,right now, there are only a few tendon repair ways for choose, and they are always not able to help patients fully regain their previous mobility. The surgeons usually let the tendon heal on its own or stitch the torn loose end together. These two ways have their own disadvantages, he choose to look for a better way to repair tendon, he chooses collagen, it’s the connective tissue that connects most of our bodies, he thinks that manipulate the collagen can help accelerate the recover time. Study shows that, when collagen is stretched, it assembles itself into a natural load-bearing structure. That means when you pull it, it's more stable than when you don't pull it. By putting collagen molecules into the wound and applying the appropriate load, the damaged tendon may heal faster than existing methods.
To achieve this, Ruberti’s Lab processes collagen into two different forms. The first is a gelatinous substance called metastable collagen, which provides loose collagen molecules to injured tendons. The other is a stable, dense collagen pad that wraps around the tendon and holds the gel in place.”Imaging the broken Achilles tendon as one broken rope”, he says”Stable collagen is like a piece of tape that wraps around the broken area and holds the two ends together. But in the tape, we put a gel of high density collagen molecules that can help repair the tendon. If we stimulate the calf muscle to contract slightly, the tendon will begin to absorb these molecules and complete the repair of the tendon itself”.
Professor Rubert now considers about promoting this technology to the market, he hopes that he will be able to quickly repair injuries for people who are doing high-intensity work, not only reducing their fear of repeated injuries, but also allowing them to quickly return to their high-intensity work.
