Got golfer’s elbow? Plantar fasciitis? Some other chronic tendon injury?
In the past, you had two options — endless rounds of physical therapy or costly surgery with long, painful recovery times.
Now, there’s a third option: A new treatment from the Emory-Georgia Tech startup TendoNova.
It’s the world’s first handheld … wireless …microinvasive tool that precisely targets the source of chronic tendon pain.
First, some background. After you injure a tendon, your body builds scar tissue at the injury site. This scar tissue, if left alone after healing, behaves differently than the healthy tendon tissue. And it can bring on recurring tendon pain (tendinopathy).
A common treatment is PNT, or percutaneous needle tenotomy. Clinicians take a small gauge needle and poke holes in scar tissue to break it up and trigger the body’s natural healing process.
While ultrasound guides the process, clinicians also have to “feel” the effect their needle has on the scar tissue. This makes PNT highly variable, not to mention a time-consuming (and tiring) procedure – one that’s only 65% effective.
By contrast, TendoNova’s motorized Ocelot system uses a custom designed cutting tool that makes dozens of cuts per second. These precisely target the scar tissue, thoroughly breaking it up and promoting healing.
The results from Ocelot are phenomenal: Early clinical data show an 87% recovery rate after the first treatment.
Back in 2019, the NFL showed interest in TendoNova’s system. The company was one of just five in the world to present at the NFL’s “1st and Future” competition.
The following June, the NFL Players Association announced it was investing in TendoNova. That added investment allowed the company to complete testing and submit its Ocelot system for FDA approval.
The association’s investment made sense: Damage to tendons is one of the most common injuries to pro football players. “In fact, chronic tendon injuries can lead to a ruptured tendon, which will most likely end a player’s career,” says Jonathan Shaw, one of TendoNova’s four co-founders.
In any given year, 30 million Americans suffer from chronic tendinopathy. (That’s a lot of tennis elbow and painful shoulders.) The unmet market need for treatment is estimated to be $1.4 billion in the United States alone.
The most common treatments are conservative – rest and/or physical therapy. But those take many months, and they work for just some patients.
Surgery is effective, but it’s expensive and invasive. PNT and other ultrasound-guided treatments are also prevalent, but there’s that inconsistency problem (see no. 1 above).
That’s because it fills a key gap in treating chronic tendinopathy.
Here’s how it works: The Ocelot system is a slender, battery-powered, handheld device that can be set up in minutes. A disposable sterile shell has a versatile cutting tool designed to fragment soft tissue. The tool can be customized, depending on the clinical need.
The beauty of the device is that it provides the precision of surgery, but at a fraction of the cost. “So, when a practice files for insurance reimbursement for a treatment using the Ocelot system, insurance providers find the comparative affordability attractive,” Shaw says.
TendoNova has already been adopted by some of the most acclaimed orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine physicians from organizations like Stanford Healthcare, Emory Healthcare, University of Kansas Medical Center, Orlando Health and numerous other clinics.
As of early 2026, over 1,500 patients have been treated with TendoNova’s technology, with no adverse effects reported and many patients reporting full recoveries in as little as 90 days.
In essence, TendoNova’s technology is like bringing a surgical-like treatment to the clinician’s office. The small footprint and reduced cost make in-office treatments economical for the patient and physician. (Hence, the ease of use and economics serve to expand the market.)
Beyond Ocelot, TendoNova plans a suite of tools and devices for a range of in-office orthopedic treatments.
TENDONOVA CORP.
Website >
Launched: 2017
Ocelot approved by FDA: March 2022 • Details >
GRA investments: Phase 1 and 2 grants totaling $200,000. Jonathan Shaw: “GRA provided our first and second investments. They really enabled us to get off the ground.”
Chairman: Ian Campbell, experienced Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor with Georgia Tech roots.
Intellectual property: Two patents (one issued, one pending)
Other investors: NFL Players Association, angel investors, private individuals.
Origins: A former physical therapist, Jonathan Shaw had the idea while pursuing his master’s degree in biomedical innovation and development at Emory-Georgia Tech’s Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.
He enlisted the help of three other students (Shawna Khouri, Brett Rogers, Luka Grujic) to develop the invention as their master’s project. In doing so, they collaborated closely with clinical experts in the field, Dr. Ken Mautner (Emory) and Dr. Gerald Malanga.
