New Process to Inactivate Pathogens in Tissue Implants

A new process is designed to help eradicate pathogens from tissue implants and reduce the risk of recipients contracting a life-threatening disease, a risk that is highlighted in a study reported in the June 17, 2004, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

More than one million tissue implants are transplanted every year, and this number is expected to grow steadily as the number of knee, hip, and shoulder surgeries increase. Currently, for example, there are an estimated 100,000 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears in the United States alone each year, and women are two to nine times as likely to incur them as men. Tissue implants are used in ACL surgeries because they result in less pain, scarring, and swelling and offer an improved range of motion and a faster return to activity.

New technology has led to the development of the Clearant Process, which uses a proprietary high dose of gamma radiation to inactivate pathogens that can contaminate tissue implants. More than 1,000 implants have been treated with the process to date, developed by Clearant, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA, USA; www.clearant.com). The company states that its process is the only pathogen inactivation method that can significantly inactivate all classes of infectious agents, including bacteria, fungi, parasites, and both enveloped and nonenveloped viruses.




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