1. Scope

Keywords

Rationale

A broad spectrum of living cartilage graft products—including osteochondral and various cartilage allografts—currently populates the market. While it is well established that chondrocyte viability and overall graft health are critical to successful repair outcomes, no standardized measures currently exist to evaluate cartilage health. Despite decades of clinical use, there are currently no industry-standard test methods for performance testing, product specifications, or research evaluation. This need was underscored by a recent consensus statement in which 100% of clinical experts agreed that a standardized methodology for testing cartilage viability must be established. This proposed ASTM guide addresses this need by providing a framework for the in vitro evaluation of cartilage health in tissues containing viable chondrocytes.