ACL Stem Cell Procedure Candidacy Tool Unveiled
I revealed, last month, that we had created a tool to be used by our network providers that would aid them in determining whether or not patients are good candidates for our ACL stem cell procedure. More specifically, it tells the doctor if the patient a good, fair, or poor candidate, for our Perc-ACLR stem cell procedure.
As a patient, making a decision on whether or not an ACL stem cell procedure is the right thing to do can be difficult when you don’t know what to expect, especially if the clinic has no outcome data for support. Knowing your candidacy rating and how likely you are to respond to the procedure can help you make the right decision. Our new ACL stem cell procedure candidacy tool helps our network providers determine candidacy based off individual indicators and the many years of ACL outcome data in our advanced registry.
So let’s take a look at the tool that I mentioned at my presentation on Perc-ACLR in June.
The ACL Stem Cell Procedure Candidacy Tool
First, watch the video above as I walk you through a brief demonstration of the actual ACL stem cell candidacy tool available to our providers. Second, the ACL stem cell procedure you will see in the video is one we pioneered called the Perc-ACLR, which is a nonsurgical, percutaneous anterior cruciate ligament repair, not to be confused with the problem-prone surgical approach called ACLR, or ACL reconstruction. Third, as I mentioned, this tool is built off the foundation of all of the data collected in our advanced registry and allows our providers access to that data within the tool to aid in candidacy decision making.
Offset and morphology are terminologies you need to be familiar with as you watch the video as they help us predict how a patient is likely to respond. In simple terms, offset refers to how far back the femur is in relation to the tibia—the farther back it is, the more damage there is to the ACL. In technical terms, this is called the degree of posterior translation. Morphology is the appearance of the tear. In other words, how does the tear look on MRI?
There are three things your provider will enter into the tool to determine your ACL candidacy: offset measurement, fermoral width, and the ACL morphology. As the provider is entering this information (which he or she will gather from the patient’s images, such as an MRI), there are supporting videos and images on the tool to guide the provider if he or she is new to using the tool. For example, there are videos showing how to measure the offset and how to measure the femoral width at the lateral femur, as well as images showing how to classify the ACL morphology.
Once the data is entered, the provider will click a box that says, “Determine ACL Candidacy.” The tool will provide feedback based on the data entered. For example, a low-risk result would read, “This patient is a LOWER RISK for failure or incomplete healing. Our data to date shows that this type of ACL tear has a high likelihood of ACL healing with the perc-ACLR procedure.”The provider would likely consider this patient a good candidate.
While the ACL stem cell procedure candidacy tool is a tool only for Regenexx providers, it’s helpful for patients to know that we base candidacy off of the extensive data collected in our treatment registry. For example, anyone can use our live patient outcome data tool, which provides access to our current registry results at any given time.
The upshot? The ACL stem cell procedure candidacy tool is one of many tools our providers can use in their decision-making process. Our providers’ own clinical judgment can, of course, override the tool, but it can be a great starting place for conversations with patients about where they fit as a candidate and what their potential outcome might be. Since we can combine individual data with registry data to determine whether you might be a good, fair, or poor candidate for an ACL stem cell procedure, this also helps you make an informed decision about what’s best for you!
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NOTE: This blog post provides general information to help the reader better understand regenerative medicine, musculoskeletal health, and related subjects. All content provided in this blog, website, or any linked materials, including text, graphics, images, patient profiles, outcomes, and information, are not intended and should not be considered or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please always consult with a professional and certified healthcare provider to discuss if a treatment is right for you.
