In some clinical cases, attending to the type and extension of the Achilles tendon injury, a partial replacement of the tissue may be needed. Driven by this, the authors developed different structures based on polypropylene (PP) or poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) multifilament yarns, using a textile technology-based technique, in order to mimic the fibrous structure of tendons. Those structures are based on a core/shell system, being the core composed by several sub-components (braids) and the shell based on braided yarns enclosing the core. It was observed that the load at failure of ropes is mainly defined by the number of yarns that compose it, but the strain level is mostly influenced by the production take-up rate of the core braids and consequently by the braid angle. The ropes stiffness level results from a combination of the yarns number and braid angle of the core braids. The structure based on PET yarns revealed a non-linear force-strain curve similar to a typical curve of a natural Achilles tendon (AT), presenting a load at failure, strain to failure and stiffness levels very promising for AT replacement. Moreover, the PET rope also revealed a very promising fatigue and appropriate creep resistance for the final application, being in accordance with what has been reported for native AT.

在某些临床情况下，考虑到跟腱损伤的类型和范围，可能需要部分替换组织。受此驱动，作者采用基于纺织技术的技术开发了基于聚丙烯（PP）或聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（PET）复丝的不同结构，以模仿肌腱的纤维结构。这些结构基于核/壳系统，即由几个子组件（编织层）组成的核，以及基于包围核的编织纱线的壳。观察到，绳索断裂时的载荷主要由构成绳索的纱线数量来定义，但是应变水平主要受芯编织物的生产吸收率的影响，进而受编织角度的影响。绳索的刚度水平是由芯数编织的纱线数量和编织角度的组合得出的。基于PET纱线的结构显示出类似于自然跟腱（AT）的典型曲线的非线性力-应变曲线，呈现出破坏时的载荷，破坏应变和刚度水平，非常有希望替代AT。此外，PET绳还显示出非常有希望的疲劳性，并在最终应用中具有适当的抗蠕变性，这与天然AT的报道一致。