Method and device for treating osteoarthritis, cartilage disease, defects and injuries in the human knee

A device for treating osteoarthritis, cartilage defects due to trauma or sports injury, or used as an adjunct with other therapies for treating cartilage defects in a human knee joint through the application of a specific and selective electric or electromagnetic field to the afflicted tissue in the human knee joint, comprising:

• a. one of (a) at least two electrodes and (b) a solenoid or at least one coil adapted for application in the proximity of a patient's knee joint;
• and
• b. a signal generator having a select control that selects, based on the size of the patient's knee joint, electric signals for application to the electrodes, the solenoid or at least one coil so as to produce an electric field range of approximately 8 mV/cm to 360 mV/cm and a current density of approximately 8 μA/cm2 to 300 μA/cm2 within the synovium and articular cartilage of the patient's knee joint.

A method of treating osteoarthritis, cartilage defects due to trauma or sports injury, or used as an adjunct with other therapies for treating cartilage defects in a human knee joint through the application of a specific and selective electric or electromagnetic field to the afflicted tissue in the human knee joint, comprising the steps of:

• a. converting electric potential into an electric signal that when applied to one of (a) at least two electrodes and (b) a solenoid or at least one coil adapted for application in the proximity of a patient's knee joint produces an electric field range of not less than approximately 8 mV/cm to 360 mV/cm and a current density of range approximately 8 μA/cm2 to 300 μA/cm2 within the synovium and articular cartilage of the patient's knee joint;
• and
• b. applying the electrical signal to either (a) the at least two electrodes or (b) the solenoid or at least one coil so as to produce the electric field within the synovium and articular cartilage of the patient's knee joint.