IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL DEVICES
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Implantable medical devices are provided. In one embodiment, a device includes a body having an external surface defining an outer profile of the device. The body includes a porous matrix including a series of interconnected macropores defined by a plurality of interconnected struts each including a hollow interior. A filler material substantially fills at least a portion of the series of interconnected macropores. The external surface of the body includes a plurality of openings communicating with the hollow interior of at least a portion of the plurality of interconnected struts. In a further aspect of this embodiment, the external surface includes exposed areas of the filler material and porous matrix in addition to the exposed openings. In another aspect, the porous matrix is formed from a bioresorbable ceramic and the filler material is a biologically stable polymeric material. Still, other aspects related to this and other embodiments are also disclosed.
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Citations
59 Claims
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1-26. -26. (canceled)
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27. A method for producing a medical implant, comprising:
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providing a bioresorbable ceramic matrix including a series of interconnected macropores defined by a plurality of interconnected struts, said interconnected struts including a plurality of interconnected internal passages positioned therein; impregnating said ceramic matrix with a biologically stable polymeric material to provide a composite blank; and processing said composite blank to provide an implant body including an external surface defining an outer profile of a desired configuration and shape for implantation, said processing including exposing at least a portion of said interconnected internal passages at said external surface. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 45, 46, 47)
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33-44. -44. (canceled)
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48. A method for producing a medical implant, comprising:
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providing a foam with interconnected pores; impregnating the foam with a slurry of ceramic material to provide a coated foam structure wherein struts of the coated foam structure are coated with the slurry and voids of the coated foam structure are substantially filled with the slurry; heating and sintering the coated foam structure to provide a ceramic matrix having a plurality of interconnected macropores defined by a plurality of interconnected struts; sintering the ceramic matrix; and infusing a filler material into and throughout the macropores. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. A method for producing a medical implant, comprising:
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providing a foam with interconnected pores; preparing a slurry by combining ceramic material with a fluid medium and a dispersing agent, the ceramic material comprising Skelite®
having a particle size of up to 50 microns, the dispersing agent being selected from a group consisting of sodium polyacrylate, ammonium polyacrylate, sodium citrate, sodium tartrate, sodium carbonate, sodium silicate and tetrasodium pyrophosphate, the dispersing agent comprising between about 1% and 3.5% by volume of the slurry;impregnating the foam with the slurry to provide a coated foam structure wherein struts of the coated foam structure are coated with the slurry and voids of the coated foam structure are substantially filled with the slurry; drying the coated foam structure, wherein the step of impregnating the foam structure with the slurry and drying the coated foam structure are repeated until the slurry forms a coating having a thickness between about 10 microns to about 100 microns and the coated foam structure has a compressive strength of about 10 MPa; heating and sintering the coated foam structure to provide a ceramic matrix having a plurality of interconnected macropores defined by a plurality of interconnected struts, wherein the step of heating and sintering the coated foam structure is done by heating and sintering the coated foam structure in succession by ramping up temperature to a sintering temperature from a heating temperature, the sintering temperature being about 25°
C. up to about 500°
C. and the heating temperature being about 900°
C. to about 1,500°
C.;sintering the ceramic matrix at temperatures between about 1200°
C. and about 1500°
C.;infusing a filler material into and throughout the macropores such that hollow portions of the struts remain substantially free of the filler material after the filler material is infused into and throughout the macropores and exposed areas of the ceramic matrix are free of the filler material after the filler material is infused into and throughout the macropores, the filler material comprising polyetheretherketone; and processing the ceramic matrix into an implant body by machining, cutting, laser shaping, chemically degrading, etching, grinding, or peening the ceramic matrix such that areas of the implant body are exposed, at least some of the areas comprising the filler material.
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Specification