The seed
Autologous cartilage micrografts
A small auricular cartilage sample is mechanically prepared into autologous micrografts during the same sitting. No cell culture. No enzyme digestion.
Professor Paul Lee presents
Taking the operation out of cartilage surgery.
NanoACi™ is a surgeon-led, one-stage cartilage technique—delivered by needle, without arthroscopy.
onestageone sitting
01 · cells02 · scaffold03 · PRFSurgeon-ledOne stageNeedle-delivered
A different question
Can this joint still be saved?
Cartilage treatment has traditionally meant theatre, arthroscopy and recovery from the access as well as the repair. NanoACi keeps the specialist judgement and the biological intent, while changing how the procedure reaches the joint.
“Keep the surgeon. Keep the science. Remove the arthroscopy.”Professor Paul Lee
The concept
Three biological roles. One planned procedure.
Prepared from the patient and combined at point of care in a protocol designed to create a chondrogenic environment.
The scaffold
Cell-free collagen matrix
A type I collagen matrix provides the physical environment intended to support the repair process within the treated joint.
The signal
Autologous platelet-rich fibrin
PRF prepared from the patient’s own blood provides a fibrin matrix carrying platelets and growth factors.
Watch · the technique explained
See the three parts come together.
A short film from the clinic: the consultation, the small auricular cartilage sample, the patient’s own blood being prepared into platelet-rich fibrin, and the collagen scaffold they are combined with.
Every component is prepared and delivered in the same sitting—no cell culture, no second operation, no arthroscopy.
Want to see a full treatment day rather than the idea? Watch the procedure film on the patients page.
Read the transcript
NanoACi is about creating the right biological environment to support cartilage repair and regeneration. We use the patient’s own cartilage cells taken from behind the ear, together with PRF from their own blood and a collagen scaffold. Each element has a different role, but put together they provide the cells, the biological signals and the structure needed to support the regenerative process. It’s a personal approach that uses the patient’s own biology to help restore damaged cartilage.
For international patients
A clear route from scan review to aftercare.
Understand the idea, who may be considered and how a one-stage visit in London is planned around you.
Explore the patient journey For medical professionalsProtocol, rationale and outcomes.
Review the technique definition, component evidence and the prospective NanoACi 100 outcomes programme.
Enter the professional section
The founder
The surgeon taking the operation out of cartilage surgery.
Professor Paul Lee is a consultant regenerative orthopaedic surgeon whose work connects cartilage surgery, sports medicine and medical engineering. NanoACi is the next step in that progression: a technique created to make advanced biological joint preservation simpler to deliver and easier for patients to access.
Read the NanoACi storyEvidence in motion
NanoACi 100
The first 100 consecutive cases will turn a technique into a body of evidence.
Standardised outcomes, responsible follow-up and transparent reporting—designed for scientific presentation and peer-reviewed publication.
See the evidence plan