Clinical relevance of scaffolds for cartilage engineering

The repair of articular cartilage defects in patients' knees presents a particular challenge to the orthopedic surgeon because cartilage lacks the ability to repair or regenerate itself. Various cartilage repair techniques have not produced a superior or uniform outcome, which has led to a new generation of cartilage repair based on tissue-engineering strategies and the use of biological scaffolds. Clinical advances have been made regarding the regeneration of articular cartilage, and continue to be made toward the achievement of a suitable treatment method for resurfacing osteochondral defects, through cartilage tissue engineering and the use of pluripotent cells seeded on bio-scaffolds.