Treating patients with their own blood, modified to increase the concentration of heal-inducing platelets, has been touted as the “cure-all” for bone, muscle, and tissue repair for athletes, weekend warriors or those with traumatic injuries.

But the outcomes of this therapy, called platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, have been unpredictable. So researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) have devised what they believe is a better way to deliver the therapy—as a putty—and the initial results have been encouraging.