SUMMARY

Meniscus tears are among the most common orthopedic injuries, but shortcomings with the current treatments leave a clinical need for a new method for repair or replacement. This work explores the use of an artificial composite material with the shape, strength, and mechanical properties needed to serve as a meniscal replacement following injury. The implant is designed to withstand the loading experienced within the native meniscus in the knee joint and to improve load distribution within the joint after meniscal removal, or a meniscectomy, which is the most common treatment for meniscus injuries and has been shown to cause damage within the articular cartilage of the knee joint. The strength, stiffness, deformation resistance, and load distributing properties of the implant and its composite material are evaluated during development.