Fig. 1.

Surgical technique of the animal experiment. A) medial approach to the knee joint with the creation of a standardized osteochondral defect with a custom-made osteotome; B) an artificially created osteochondral defect in the weight loading area of the medial condyle of the knee joint (6 millimetres diameter, 2 millimetres depth); C) defect filled with Chondrotissue^® graft, cut in a circular shape corresponding to the diameter of the osteochondral lesion and; D) osteochondral defect filled with Chondrotissue^® and covered with plasma-based hydrogel mixed with pBMSCs to cover the defect and anchor the cells inside the carrier.