Building on the success of previous ICRS meetings this meeting promises a state of the art summary of current and future techniques in cartilage repair and will also emphasize and further develop similarities and differences between cartilage injury and early Osteoarthritis. These topics will be elucidated through sessions covering the latest approaches towards cartilage injury and early Osteoarthritis from the view point of basic science, clinical science and clinical techniques to address the problems and issues that we encounter on a daily basis.