Implant for surgical use in humans or vertebrates

• US 20060052873A1
• Filed: 08/24/2005
• Published: 03/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Buck GmbH & Co., KG.
• Original Assignee: Buck GmbH & Co., KG.
• Inventors: Kaps, Hans-Peter, Buck, Alfred Ernst
• Granted Patent: US 8,728,164 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/17.160
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/3094 Designing or manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/30965 Reinforcing the prosthesis by embedding particles or fibres during moulding or dipping
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/32 for the hip
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/40 for shoulders
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/442 Intervertebral or spinal discs, e.g. resilient non-disc-shaped intervertebral inflatable pockets A61F2/441; non-disc-shaped intervertebral fusion implants A61F2/4455
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30032 differing in absorbability or resorbability, i.e. in absorption or resorption time
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30062 (bio)absorbable, biodegradable, bioerodable, (bio)resorbable, resorptive
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30133 kidney-shaped or bean-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/30563 having elastic means or damping means, different from springs, e.g. including an elastomeric core or shock absorbers
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/4495 having a fabric structure, e.g. made from wires or fibres
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2210/0004 bioabsorbable
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/0015 Kidney-shaped, e.g. bean-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2250/003 differing in adsorbability or resorbability, i.e. in adsorption or resorption time
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2310/00023 Titanium or titanium-based alloys, e.g. Ti-Ni alloys
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2310/00365 Proteins; Polypeptides; Degradation products thereof

Abstract

A process for the production of an implant and to an implant for surgical use in humans or vertebrates, in particular for the replacement, for the partial replacement or for the strengthening of a damaged intervertebral disk or for the replacement, for the partial replacement or for the strengthening of an anatomical joint. The implant includes at least one wire or at least one fiber. The wire or the fiber is present at least partially as a knitted fabric.

Claims

1. An implant for surgical use in humans or vertebrates for the replacement, for the partial replacement or for the strengthening of a damaged inter-vertebral disk or for the replacement, for the partial replacement or for the strengthening of a joint, the implant comprising:

at least one wire and/or at least one fiber, wherein the at least one wire and/or the at least one fiber is at least partially in a pressed knitted fabric.

3. The implant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one wire and/or the at least one fiber comprises at least one biocompatible material, selected from the group consisting of titanium, stainless steel, stainless steel alloys, and titanium alloys.

4. The implant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one wire and/or the at least one fiber comprises at least one material resorbable by the body.

5. The implant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one wire and/or the at least one fiber has a diameter of approximately 0.01 mm to approximately 5 mm.

7. The implant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressed knitted fabric has a mesh width of 0.01 mm to 50 mm.

8. The implant as claimed in claim 7, wherein the pressed knitted fabric is a drawn-loop knitted fabric.

9. The implant as claimed in claim 7, wherein the pressed knitted fabric is a crocheted and/or formed-loop knitted fabric.

10. The implant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one wire and/or the at least one fiber is at least partially in a nonwoven scrim, braid and/or as a textile.

11. The implant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressed knitted fabric is a tube.

13. The implant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressed knitted fabric is a rolled up knitted fabric, a wound knitted fabric, and/or a folded knitted fabric.

14. The implant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one wire and/or the at least one fiber is/are interlocked with and/or stuck to and/or in the pressed knitted fabric.

15. The implant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressed knitted fabric is a pressed shaped article.

16. The implant as claimed in claim 15, further comprising cavities formed the pressed shaped article, wherein the cavities each have a diameter of approximately 0.001 mm to approximately 10 mm.

17. The implant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the implant is elastic and has resilient and damping properties.

18. The implant as claimed in claim 15, wherein the pressed shaped article has a resilience constant that increases with increasing elastic deformation.

19. The implant as claimed in claim 18, wherein the resilience constant is between 5 and 3000 N/mm.

20. The implant as claimed in claim 18, wherein the resilience constant is initially between 5 and 300 N/mm.

21. The implant as claimed in claim 15, wherein the pressed shaped article has a kidney-shaped design with a curved convex side and an opposite concave side and essentially corresponds to the shape of a natural intervertebral disk.

22. The implant as claimed in claim 15, wherein the pressed shaped article essentially corresponds to the shape of a natural hip joint socket or a natural head of a femur.

23. The implant as claimed in claim 15, wherein the pressed shaped article essentially corresponds to the shape of a natural shoulder joint socket or a natural shoulder joint head.

24. The implant as claimed in claim 4, further comprising stem cells.

25. A process for the production of an implant for surgical use in humans or vertebrates, in particular for the production of an implant as claimed in the prior claims, for the replacement, for the partial replacement or for the strengthening of a damaged intervertebral disk or for the replacement, for the partial replacement or for the strengthening of a joint, the process comprising:

forming at least one wire and/or at least one fiber at least partially in a pressed knitted fabric.

26. The process as claimed in claim 25, wherein the at least one wire and/or the at least one fiber comprises at least titanium.

27. The process as claimed in claim 25, wherein the at least one wire and/or the at least one fiber comprises a biocompatible material, selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, stainless steel alloys, and titanium alloys.

28. The process as claimed in claim 25, wherein the at least one wire and/or the at least one fiber comprises at least one material resorbable by the body.

29. The process as claimed in claim 25, wherein the at least one wire and/or the at least one fiber comprises a diameter of approximately 0.01 mm to approximately 5 mm.

31. The process as claimed in claim 25, wherein the pressed knitted fabric comprises a mesh width of 0.01 mm to 5 mm.

32. The process as claimed in claim 25, wherein the pressed knitted fabric comprises a drawn-loop knitted fabric.

33. The process as claimed in claim 25, wherein the pressed knitted fabric comprises a crocheted and/or formed-loop knitted fabric.

35. The process as claimed in claim 25, wherein the pressed knitted fabric comprises a tube.

36. The process as claimed in claim 35, wherein the tube is converted into the form of a band by pressing and/or rolling.

37. The process as claimed in claim 36, wherein the band is pressed and/or rolled in such a way that the band has a thickness of approximately 0.1 mm to approximately 20 mm.

38. The process as claimed in claims 36, wherein the band is converted into a wavy form by deformation.

39. The process as claimed in claim 38, wherein the band is converted into a wavy form in such a way that the wavy form has a plurality of wave axes that run parallel to one another.

40. The process as claimed in claim 39, wherein the wavey form comprises wave crests having a distance between adjacent wave crests of 0.01 mm to 100 mm, and having a height difference between a wave trough and the wave crest of approximately 0.01 mm to approximately 100 mm.

41. The process as claimed in claim 39, wherein the wavy shape of the band is formed in such a way that the pluarlity of wave axes have an angle á

of approximately 0°

to approximately 90°

with respect to a longitudinal axis of the band.

42. The process as claimed in claim 36, wherein the band is rolled up, wound and/or folded.

43. The process as claimed in claim 25, wherein the pressed knitted fabric is rolled up, wound and/or folded.

44. The process as claimed in claim 36, a further comprising shaping by pressing, the band in the form of a desired shaped article.

45. The process as claimed in claim 25, further comprising shaping by pressing, the pressed knitted fabric in the form of a desired shaped article.

46. The process as claimed in claim 44, wherein shaping the band reduces a volume of the pressed knitted fabric by a factor of approximately 1/20 to approximately 9/10.

47. The process as claimed in claim 44, wherein the at least one wires and/or the at least one fiber of the pressed knitted fabric are interlocked with and become stuck to one another and in one another by the pressing process.

48. The process as claimed in claim 44, further comprising forming cavities within the desired shaped article and wherein each of the cavities have a diameter of approximately 0.001 mm to approximately 10 mm.

49. The process as claimed in claim 44, wherein the desired shaped article comprises an elastic form having a resilience constant of between 5 and 3000 N/mm.

50. The process as claimed in claim 44, wherein the desired shaped article comprises elastic form having a resilience constant in the starting state of between 5 to 300 N/mm.

51. The process as claimed in claim 44, wherein the desired shaped article is of kidney-shaped design with a curved convex side and an opposite concave side and corresponds essentially to the shape of a natural intervertebral disk.

52. The process as claimed in claim 44, wherein the desired shaped article is designed in such a way that it essentially corresponds to the shape of a natural hip joint socket or a natural head of a femur.

53. The process as claimed in claim 44, wherein the desired shaped article is formed in such a way that it essentially corresponds to the shape of a natural shoulder joint socket or a natural shoulder joint head.

54. The process as claimed in claim 25, further comprising colonizing the implant with stem cells.

2. (canceled)

6. (canceled)

12. (canceled)

30. (canceled)

34. (canceled)

55. (canceled)

56. An implant, comprising at least one wire resorbable by the body or a resorbable fiber, wherein the at least one wire or the resorbable fiber is colonized at least sectionwise with stem cells.

57. The implant as claimed in claim 56, wherein the at least one wire or the resorbable fiber is part of a knitted article.

58. An intervertebral disk implant, comprising:

an upper plate,

a lower plate, and

as an elastic core, an implant, arranged between the upper and lower plates, wherein the implant comprises at least one wire and/or at least one fiber at least partially knitted into a fabric.

59. A joint implant, comprising:

a joint socket and/or a joint head, formed at least by a material selected from the group consisting of plastics, metal, and ceramics, and

an implant arranged on a side of the joint socket and/or the joint head that faces away from joint surfaces that rub on one another, wherein the implant comprises at least one wire and/or at least one fiber at least partially knitted into a fabric.

60. A method for the production of implants for surgical use in humans or vertebrates for the replacement or for the strengthening of a damaged intervertebral disk or for the replacement or for the strengthening of a joint, the method comprising utilizing a knitted fabric.