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:
Jan. 25, 2000
Filed:
Apr. 18, 1997
Andrew B Berman, Camp Verde, AZ (US);
W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Newark, DE (US);
Abstract
A resorbable implant for interposition arthroplasty which is intended to fill a void between two adjacent bone ends, providing a cushion between the bone ends to prevent impingement of the bone ends while providing time for tissue to infiltrate into the space occupied by the implant. It has a protracted resorption time of preferably at least three months to allow time for the proliferation of load-bearing host fibrous tissue in place of the resorbed implant material. The implant preferably is porous with a pore size of greater than about 80 microns in order to enhance infiltration of fibrous tissue. The implant has a modulus in the range of 0.8 to 20 MPa which is soft enough to allow it to conform to surface irregularities of the adjacent bone surfaces while being hard enough to maintain a desired separation between those bones while tissue infiltration replaces the resorbable implant material. The implant may be preformed to the desired shape or alternatively may be formable by the surgeon by methods such as carving with a scalpel. A preferred application for the implant is as a trapezium bone replacement.