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Updated: May 6, 2026
Athymic Rat Model for Evaluation of Engineered Anterior Cruciate Ligament Grafts
Published on: March 26, 2015
A novel core biopsy technique for anterior cruciate ligament preserves ligament structural integrity: a porcine study
Michiel Mylle1, Steven Claes1, Peter Verdonk2
1Department of Orthopedic Surgery & Traumatology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Purpose:
The objective of this study was to validate a new technique to safely obtain core biopsy specimens of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) without jeopardizing the ACL's biomechanical properties.
Methods:
Eleven pairs of fresh porcine femur-ACL-tibia complexes were tested in a loading frame. The ACL of one knee was biopsied using a spring-loaded core biopsy device, whereas the contralateral ACL was tested as the control. Biomechanical properties of the biopsied and control ACLs were compared.
Results:
The ultimate load to failure was 1,202 N ± 171.1 N and 1,193 N ± 228.7 N (P = .8984) for biopsied and non-biopsied ACLs, respectively. No significant differences were noted for maximal elongation at failure, maximal strain, absorbed energy, and stiffness between biopsied and non-biopsied ACLs.
Conclusions:
The results of this study indicate that a new ACL core biopsy technique can be performed while preserving the ligament's structural integrity.
Clinical Relevance:
The presented core biopsy technique could be regarded as a dedicated tool to elucidate the poorly understood (patho)biological processes occurring in both the native and reconstructed ACLs.
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