autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (amic) is a treatment for articular cartilage damage. it combines microfracture surgery with the application of a bi-layer collagen i/iii membrane. there is tentative short to medium term benefits as of 2017. the initialism amic, often used as a genericized trademark, is a registered trademark of ed. geistlich söhne ag, protected by german registration no. 30255356 and international registration no. 840373. the procedure described below relates specifically to the use of a collagen membrane, but recent advances now allow the use, using the same surgical procedure of non woven bio degradable materials that were initially developed for cell culturing of chondrocytes to be employed. these purely synthetic materials ( contain no animal derived products) are often further enhanced by impregnation of the material with high concentrations of hyaluronic acid, which has been shown to be required to stimulate the differentiation of stem cells migrating from the bone marrow into chondrocytes (the true cartilage cell) and the resultant synthesis of type 2 collagen, the same native collagen found in the undamaged cartilage tissue. these enhanced synthetic biodegradable materials have been used to treat lesions in the knee, ankle, hip and great toe. procedure