Optimising knee therapies
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Optimising knee therapies through improved population stratification and precision of the intervention
IRAS ID
239594
Contact name
Louise Jennings
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
EP/N00941X/1, EPSRC IKC Grant
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 2 months, 15 days
Research summary
In the UK, one third of people aged over 45 have sought treatment for osteoarthritis, and the disease costs the NHS over £5 billion per year. The knee is the most common site for osteoarthritis, with over four million sufferers in England alone. The aging population with expectations of more active lifestyles, coupled with the increasing demand for treatment of younger and more active patients, are challenging the current therapies for knee joint degeneration. There is a major need for effective earlier stage interventions that delay or prevent the requirement for total knee replacement surgery. There are large variations in patients' knees and the way that they function, and it is important that this variation is taken into account when treatments are developed, so that the right treatment can be matched to the right patient. Through this programme of research we will develop novel laboratory-based testing and computer models to predict the functional performance of new therapies for the knee and enable their design and usage to be optimised. Importantly these tests will take into account the variation in patients' anatomy and knee biomechanics, as well as variations in device design and surgical technique. This will enable different therapies, or different variants of a device, to be matched to different patient groups.
We will then apply the methods to new and emerging treatments, including regenerative devices, so that they can be tested and optimised before costly clinical trials take place. This research will benefit patients, the NHS and the growing UK industry and science base that are developing new therapies for the knee.REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/EM/0224
Date of REC Opinion
13 Aug 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion