Autologous blood injection
Encyclopedia
Autologous Blood Injection (ABI), also known as Autologous Conditioned Plasma (ACP) Injection is a recent medical procedure whereby a patient's blood is injected into an area of the body for the purposes of healing. It is most commonly used to treat degeneration of tendons, which may occur in association with small tears. This disorder of tendons is frequently referred to as "tendinitis" by the public, however is known as tendinosis or tendinopathy in the medical profession. The procedure is usually performed under ultrasound
control by a radiologist. The injection of blood contains small cells called platelets, which contain platelet derived growth factor. This substance is thought to promote tendon healing. A variation on the technique is Platelet Rich Plasma(PRP)
, which is where the whole blood removed from the patient is spun in a centrifuge, separating the cells of the blood. As such a higher concentration of platelets is delivered into the tissue for healing. As yet, there has been no study to demonstrate that a PRP injection is superior to ABI, with both techniques demonstrating improvement in 70-80% of patients.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is thus not separated from "normal" sound based on differences in physical properties, only the fact that humans cannot hear it. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is...
control by a radiologist. The injection of blood contains small cells called platelets, which contain platelet derived growth factor. This substance is thought to promote tendon healing. A variation on the technique is Platelet Rich Plasma(PRP)
Platelet-rich plasma
Platelet-rich plasma is blood plasma that has been enriched with platelets. As a concentrated source of autologous platelets, PRP contains several different growth factors and other cytokines that stimulate healing of bone and soft tissue.-Components:The efficacy of certain growth factors in...
, which is where the whole blood removed from the patient is spun in a centrifuge, separating the cells of the blood. As such a higher concentration of platelets is delivered into the tissue for healing. As yet, there has been no study to demonstrate that a PRP injection is superior to ABI, with both techniques demonstrating improvement in 70-80% of patients.