Joint venture

Advanced Gel Technology, a spin-out from Bradford University's School of Engineering, Design and Technology, is developing a gel that could be used to repair torn cartilages.

A £135,000 project to develop the gel, which was funded by Advanced Gel Technology and partly by Yorkshire Forward, began three years ago. While the gel is not at clinical-trial stage yet, Advanced Gel Technology is confident that it will help hundreds of people when it finally becomes commercially available.

Unlike most other parts of the body, cartilage cannot be repaired easily, meaning that most joint sufferers need to undergo major invasive surgery.

Treating patients who need surgery with the alternative hydrogel therapy would mean a much less-invasive procedure that could postpone the need for joint replacement for at least five years.

The hydrogel treatment would be a very simple procedure and eventually could be carried out as day surgery, where a needle could be inserted through the skin into existing torn cartilage and then filled with the gel to stop the pain caused by bones rubbing against each other.