The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 21, 1999
Filed:
Jun. 07, 1995
John H Brekke, Duluth, MN (US);
Richard D Coutts, San Diego, CA (US);
THM Biomedical, Inc., Duluth, MN (US);
Abstract
A biodegradable device for facilitating healing of structural voids in bone, cartilage as well as soft tissue is disclosed in the most preferred form including a porous macrostructure made from a biodegradable polymer and a chemotactic ground substance in the form of an RGD attachment moiety of fibronectin formed as a porous microstructure. For repair of articular cartilage, harvested precursor cells are secured to the biodegradable carrier which is shaped for press fitting into the articular cartilage lesion. In the most preferred form, the chemotactic ground substance enhances the attractiveness of the biodegradable device for cellular attachment at the site of repair and also facilitates the attachment of free, precursor cells such as chondrocytes and bone marrow to the biodegradable device. In the most preferred form, biological modifiers such as transforming growth factor B and basic fibroblastic growth factor is incorporated in the biodegradable device to mediate cellular activity and regulate cellular functions.