An observational study in Tendinopathy, Musculoskeletal Diseases or Conditions and ACL Surgery, sponsored by Queen Mary University of London. Not yet recruiting at 2 sites in United Kingdom. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-07.
Sponsored by Queen Mary University of London · Observational
The goal of this study is to improve understanding of tendon health and disease by using surplus tendon tissue that is routinely removed during planned orthopaedic surgeries in adults. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- What can tendon tissue and tendon cells tell us about how healthy and diseased tendons function?
Participants will not undergo any extra procedures. Instead, researchers will use only tissue that is already being removed as part of normal surgical care and would otherwise be discarded.
Participants will:
What the researchers will do with the donated tissue:
This study does not involve testing treatments, and it does not change any aspect of a participant's clinical care. Although there is no direct benefit to participants, the donated tissue may help researchers develop better ways to study tendon injuries and improve future treatment options for tendon disease.
This study aims to improve our understanding of how human tendons work, why they become injured, and how tendon diseases develop. Tendon problems-such as tendinopathy-are common and can cause long-lasting pain and loss of mobility. Scientists currently lack good laboratory models that accurately represent real human tendon tissue, which makes it harder to study these conditions or test new treatments.
During many types of planned orthopaedic surgery, small pieces of tendon tissue are routinely removed because they are no longer needed for the patient's care. Normally, this tissue would simply be thrown away. In this study, patients who are already having surgery are invited to donate this surplus tissue for research.
How the study works:
If a patient agrees to take part, the healthcare team will collect the leftover tendon tissue during their planned operation. There are no extra procedures, no changes to the surgery, and nothing additional that the patient needs to do.
After collection, the tissue is taken to research laboratories at Queen Mary University of London. There, scientists use it in two main ways:
Studying the tendon tissue itself:
Researchers examine the structure and cells within the tendon to study how tendon cells are organised.
The donated tissue allows researchers to isolate living tendon cells. These cells can then be used to build more advanced laboratory models-such as "tendon-on-a-chip" systems-that mimic how tendons experience movement, load, and interaction with other cell types. These models will help scientists study disease processes and could support the development of new treatments in the future.
To support this work, the research team also receives a small amount of non-identifiable medical information about each donor-such as age, general health information, and the reason for surgery. This helps researchers understand how different factors may influence tendon biology. All personal details (like names or NHS numbers) remain within the hospital and are never shared with the research team.
Why this research matters:
Human tendon tissue is rarely available for research, yet it is essential for creating accurate models and understanding real-world disease. By using tissue that would otherwise be discarded, this study will:
Although participants will not directly benefit, their donated tissue may contribute to scientific progress that improves care for people with tendon injuries in the future.
397 studies on the registry are indexed under Tendinopathy; 77 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 400 is above the median of 61 across 50 observational studies indexed under Tendinopathy.
Browse Tendinopathy studies →Queen Mary University of London is the lead sponsor of 253 studies on the registry; 58 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Patients scheduled to undergo orthopaedic lower limb surgery at the Royal London, Whipps Cross University Hospital and the Barts Health Orthopaedic Centre in Newham.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Obtain sufficient tendon tissue samples.
The main outcome of this project is to obtain sufficient tendon tissue to isolate different human tendon cells and perform tissue analysis.
Time frame: Perioperative to immediate post-collection laboratory processing (within 24 hours).
Plan to share: No — No individual participant data will be shared. All data used in the study are pseudonymised before transfer to the research team, and identifiable information remains within the NHS clinical environment. No IPD dataset suitable for external sharing will be generated.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Nov 2026; primary completion for Oct 2031, 58 months later.
Since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026, the dates moved once, on Oct 7, 2026: start Jun 2026 → Nov 2026, primary completion Jun 2031 → Oct 2031 and completion Jun 2031 → Oct 2031.
Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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