FIGURE 1.

Biomaterial application to injury site. Biomaterials are applied to the injury site for both contusion and hemisection SCI models in vivo. (A) For acute injury, hydrogels are injected onto the contusion injury site, and solidified gels are positioned into the hemisection injury site. (B) For secondary injury, hydrogels incorporating particles are injected onto the contusion injury site, and solidified gels containing particles are placed into the hemisection injury site. (C) During the proliferation and chronic injury phases, a shallow cavity develops within the lesion of contusion injury. Fibers are positioned below the dura within the contusion injury cavity, and conduit scaffolds are inserted within the hemisection injury to bridge the healthy tissue. As the conduit is a more rigid structure, its use in an irregularlyshaped contusive injury is less applicable.