A spinal disc implant including a body defined by a plurality of interwoven or braided nitinol strands. The body includes a first end and a second end. The nitinol strands come together at the first end and are secured with a first fitting. The nitinol strands also come together at the second end and are secured with a second fitting. The second fitting can include a snare hook. The braided nitinol skeleton is internally assembled within the intervertebral disc. The implant is filled with liquid, gel or silicone when utilized as a motion preserving nucleus pulpous implant. The implant is filled with bone graft material when utilized as an inter-body fusion implant. An instrument and technique that provides a minimally invasive needle based solution to address degenerative disc disease with enhanced structural integrity of the spine compared to conventional surgical devices and techniques.

In some embodiments, a spinal implant device is provided. The spinal implant device can include a shell. The shell can include a movable lid forming an upper surface of the shell. In some embodiments, the movable lid is configured to rotate and translate. The spinal implant device can include an insert configured to couple with the shell. In some embodiments, a spinal implant device is provided. The spinal implant device can include a body, a movable lid configured to rotate relative to the body, and an endplate. The body, the movable lid, and the endplate can form a cavity configured to be packed with material

The process for producing an orthopedic implant having an integrated silicon nitride surface layer includes steps for positioning the orthopedic implant inside a vacuum chamber, mixing nitrogen gas and vaporized silicon atoms in the vacuum chamber, emitting a relatively high energy beam into the mixture of nitrogen gas and vaporized silicon atoms in the vacuum chamber to cause a gas-phase reaction between the nitrogen gas and the vaporized silicon atoms to form reacted precipitate silicon nitride molecules, and driving the precipitate silicon nitride molecules with the same beam into an outer surface of the orthopedic implant at a relatively high energy such that the precipitate silicon nitride molecules implant therein and form at least a part of the molecular structure of the outer surface of the orthopedic implant, thereby forming the integrated silicon nitride surface layer.