A COUPLING DEVICE ENABLED BY MECHANICAL CONTINUITY OF CELLULAR SCAFFOLDING ACROSS TISSUE BOUNDARIES
First Claim
1. A tissue coupling device comprising:
- a plurality of slender fibers extending in generally parallel fashion from within a first tissue substance to within a second tissue substance and across a tissue boundary, said plurality of fibers configured to provide a scaffolding for capturing proliferating cells of said first and second tissue substances to envelope said fibers and provide mechanical coupling across said tissue boundary.
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Abstract
A device and method for achieving load-bearing living-tissue-to-living-tissue coupling comprises a myriad of fine fibers extending directly from within the substance of one tissue to within the substance of the other tissue. Fibers are similar in cross-sectional area to, or smaller than, host tissue cells. This enables fibers to provide a scaffolding into which proliferating cells of each tissue may grow to form a collagenous matrix enveloping individual fibers and transferring mechanical loads between each tissue'"'"'s extracellular matrix and the fibers. Also taught are devices and methods (1) for delivering bundles of independent fibers into soft or hard tissue, (2) for transiently reducing tissue drag during insertion, (3) for temporarily stabilizing position during tissue ingrowth, and (4) for spatial distribution of fiber bending stress in the event of a hard tissue.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A tissue coupling device comprising:
a plurality of slender fibers extending in generally parallel fashion from within a first tissue substance to within a second tissue substance and across a tissue boundary, said plurality of fibers configured to provide a scaffolding for capturing proliferating cells of said first and second tissue substances to envelope said fibers and provide mechanical coupling across said tissue boundary. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for tissue coupling, comprising:
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positioning a first tissue substance and a second tissue substance proximate each other to form a tissue boundary; and extending a plurality of fibers from within the first tissue substance and into the second tissue substance and across the tissue boundary to couple the first tissue substance with the second tissue substance, wherein the plurality of fibers are generally oriented in planes parallel to a predominant direction of known or potential tissue disrupting forces. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification