Unmet Medical Need: Current surgical repair of rotator cuff tears relies on millennia old technology: sutures grasping tendon. Due to stress concentrations at two grasping points the sutures cut through tendon leading to failure of the repair. There is a need to improve rotator cuff repairs to reduce repair failure rates.

Envisioned Healthcare Product: PythonFix combines a unique mechanical fixation approach with sustained local delivery of biologics. The device consists of a porous base secured at the attachment site and teeth that rise above to grasp tendon. PythonFix fundamentally changes the repair paradigm by distributing load transfer across the entire repair footprint.

Stage of Development: Pre-clinical testing

Collaborative Research Team: Stavros Thomopoulos, PhD and William N, Levine, MD

Funding Cycle: 2020-2021