An orthopaedic surgeon, Amarnath Surat, has been granted a patent for inventing a regenerative medical treatment in treating chronic osteoarthritis and sports injuries related to joints using Platelet Rich Plasma — a recent advance in regenerative medicine.
Dr. Amarnath ’s innovation, titled ‘Apparatus and a Closed Extraction System for Platelet-Rich Plasma’, has been granted a patent certificate from the Intellectual Property India, a Government of India office authorised to issue patents, designs, trademarks and Geographical Indications.
The treatment uses platelet-rich plasma extracted from whole blood, centrifuged to remove red blood cells and leukocytes. The platelets with concentrated growth factors are used to stimulate growth of cartilage at the desired site of joint inflammation.
The platelet enrichment kit is useful for patients with acute knee joint pains, tennis elbow, osteoarthritis and diabetic foot and ulcers. The PRP extraction kit costing ₹2,000 has been developed by Regen Technologies.
The procedure begins with drawing blood from the patients, from which the PRP is extracted and then injected into the affected part to regenerate damaged tissue.
``The human body has a capacity to heal itself. The stem cells extracted from bone marrow are formed into Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate — a densily centrifuged autologous plasma — which is injected into the affected area in the body. In designing the PRP kit, we have kept safety in mind. The treatment is now being used to treat sports injuries as well,” Dr. Amarnath told The Hindu on Saturday.
Patients would be taken through counseling procedures before and during treatment. Lifestyle modifications during the treatment include weight loss, performing low intensity exercises and keeping sugar levels under control.
