A composite implant comprising an injectable matrix material which is flowable and settable, and at least one reinforcing element for integration with the injectable matrix material, the at least one reinforcing element adding sufficient strength to the injectable matrix material such that when the composite implant is disposed in a cavity in a bone, the composite implant supports the bone.

A method for treating a bone, the method comprising: selecting at least one reinforcing element to be combined with an injectable matrix material so as to together form a composite implant capable of supporting the bone; positioning the at least one reinforcing element in a cavity in the bone; flowing the injectable matrix material into the cavity in the bone so that the injectable matrix material interfaces with the at least one reinforcing element; and transforming the injectable matrix material from a flowable state to a non-flowable state so as to establish a static structure for the composite implant, such that the composite implant supports the adjacent bone.

Various implementations include intervertebral discs and associated methods of use and imaging. One implementation includes an intervertebral disc capable of imaging under MRI, the disc including: an upper plate including a polyaryletherketone (PAEK) portion having a lower bearing surface and an upper vertebra contacting surface, the upper surface formed at least in part from a metal for improved bone attachment; a lower plate including a PAEK portion having an upper bearing surface and a lower vertebra contacting surface, the lower surface formed at least in part from a metal for improved bone attachment; and a ceramic core to mate and articulate with respect to the bearing surfaces of the upper and lower plates, wherein upon imaging under X-ray the PAEK portion of the upper and lower plates are substantially completely invisible and the upper and lower vertebral contacting surfaces of the upper and lower plates are substantially completely visible.

A coated powder composite may include a core particle of Ca or an alloy thereof, or of Mg or an alloy thereof. One or more coating layers may be disposed about the core particle, cladding the core particle. The coated powder composite may be biodegradable.

In accordance with one aspect, a spinal implant for fusing vertebral bones is provided that includes a monolithic body for being inserted between bones. The body has a through opening of the body for receiving bone growth material and a wall of the body extending about the through opening. The wall includes nubs extending into the through opening that increase the surface area of the wall available for bone on-growth.

A composition and methods of making or use thereof include a plurality of fibers forming a shape for augmenting fixation of a bone screw, or the plurality of fibers form a shape having a peg portion and a sheet portion to augment tendon to bone repair. The physical presence of the plurality of fibers provides initial fixation, while the use of an osteoinductive material provides long term enhancement of bone formation around the site of the bone screw or the tendon to bone repair.

A method for forming a thermoplastic body having regions with varied material composition and/or porosity. Powder blends comprising a thermoplastic polymer, a sacrificial porogen and an inorganic reinforcement or filler are molded to form complementary parts with closely toleranced mating surfaces. The parts are formed discretely, assembled and compression molded to provide a unitary article that is free from discernible boundaries between the assembled parts. Each part in the assembly has differences in composition and/or porosity, and the assembly has accurate physical features throughout the sections of the formed article, without distortion and nonuniformities caused by variable compaction and densification rates in methods that involve compression molding powder blends in a single step.

A composite material for use, for example, as an orthopedic implant, that includes a porous reinforced composite scaffold that includes a polymer, reinforcement particles distributed throughout the polymer, and a substantially continuously interconnected plurality of pores that are distributed throughout the polymer, each of the pores in the plurality of pores defined by voids interconnected by struts, each pore void having a size within a range from about 10 to 500 μm. The porous reinforced composite scaffold has a scaffold volume that includes a material volume defined by the polymer and the reinforcement particles, and a pore volume defined by the plurality of pores. The reinforcement particles are both embedded within the polymer and exposed on the struts within the pore voids. The polymer may be a polyaryletherketone polymer and the reinforcement particles may be anisometric calcium phosphate particles.

There is provided an osteon template for tissue engineering, including a first plurality of vasculogenic filaments including a first hydrogel and vessel-forming cells, and a second plurality of osteogenic filaments including a second hydrogel and bone-forming cells, wherein the first plurality of vasculogenic filaments is arranged alternately with the second plurality of osteogenic filaments in a concentric arrangement.

A device for the repair of a phalangeal joint comprises a first anchor, a second anchor, and a flexible spacer connecting the first and second anchors. The flexible spacer comprises a plurality of elongate fibers extending axially or criss-crossed between the first and second anchors and a polymeric matrix interspersed with the plurality of elongate fibers. Specifically, a prosthetic metatarsophalangeal joint device comprises a porous metallic metatarsal bone anchor, a porous metallic phalangeal bone anchor, and a polymeric spacer element comprising parallel or criss-crossed elongate fibers that can connect the metatarsal bone anchor and the phalangeal bone anchor. Methods for manufacturing prosthetic joint devices comprise using three-dimensional printing processes or molding processes. Methods for implanting prosthetic joint devices comprise positioning porous metallic anchor components adjacent resected bones at planar interfaces and between which a polymeric spacer having axial aligned elongate fibers embedded in a matrix can be disposed.

The present invention disclosed a method of producing a three-dimensional porous tissue in-growth structure. The method includes the steps of depositing a first layer of metal powder and scanning the first layer of metal powder with a laser beam to form a portion of a plurality of predetermined unit cells. Depositing at least one additional layer of metal powder onto a previous layer and repeating the step of scanning a laser beam for at least one of the additional layers in order to continuing forming the predetermined unit cells. The method further includes continuing the depositing and scanning steps to form a medical implant.