Olympic athletes Sofia Goggia and Elena Curtoni underwent the regenerative knee cartilage treatment developed by our portfolio start-up LIPOGEMS, which will enable them to regenerate and heal tissues damaged during the last competitive season in just a few months.
LIPOGEMS, which enjoys the status of an innovative SME, has developed a Made in Italy medical device that represents a valid alternative to surgery or an additional tool to traditional therapies to support the natural repair of tissues damaged as a result of competitive sports activities, but also of different types of pathologies such as osteoarthritis, a disabling disease that affects over 250 million cases per year. In addition, infiltration of micro-fractured autologous fat is useful not only in orthopedics, but also in other fields of medicine, from gynaecology to coloproctology to aesthetic treatments.
The technology behind the device, patented by Professor Carlo Tremolada, involves harvesting and processing autologous adipose tissue and activating the mesenchymal cells it contains. The processed tissue is then infiltrated into the patient’s joint or tissues as an autograft to trigger and support the natural tissue self-repair mechanisms.
Professor Tremolada with Olympic champion Sofia Goggia
“The treatment first involves a small sampling of adipose tissue, carried out by a plastic surgeon, a specialist who can identify the most suitable body part for this operation. The harvested fat tissue is then crushed, washed and reduced in size without altering its structure. Then, it is injected where necessary by an orthopedist or another specialist – physiatrist or sports doctor – who must identify the most suitable points for easy and direct access,‘ explained Dr Andrea Panzeri, head of the Sport Trauma and Research Centre at the San Siro Clinical Institute in Milan and President of the FISI (Italian Winter Sports Federation) Medical Commission, who performed the treatment that Goggia and Curtoni underwent.
With a patent now widespread worldwide, and this authoritative accreditation from the sporting world, LIPOGEMS has achieved another important milestone and world-class visibility.
