A bone graft delivery system and method for using same to deliver graft material into a surgical site. The system includes an interbody implant having a securing site disposed on a surface of the implant and a holder having an elongated, hollow handle including a distal end. The distal end of the holder is configured to removably engage the securing site of the interbody implant to secure the interbody implant to the distal end of the holder until such time as a user desires to disengage the holder from the interbody implant. The interbody implant may be a cage implant having opposing anterior and posterior surfaces, opposing first and second lateral surfaces, and opposing top and bottom surfaces, wherein the top surface comprises a first aperture and the bottom surface comprises a second aperture, the posterior surface comprising a third aperture, the first, second, and third apertures all linking to a main cavity, the main cavity generally extending between the top surface and the bottom surface.

An intervertebral implant has a hollow space formed within the implant and accessible through an elongate opening extending through a recessed portion of the side wall, and the hollow space is shaped to receive an engagement portion of a drive shaft of an insertion tool; and the intervertebral implant includes at least two guiding surfaces facing each other and being configured for sliding engagement by a portion of a sleeve of the insertion tool movably holding the drive shaft.

The invention relates to bioactive surface coatings deposited on selected substrates. Surface nanostructured film coatings deposited on most metal or nonmetal substrates to provide surfaces can be engineered to promote enhanced tissue/cell adhesion. Attached cells, including osteoblasts, fibroblasts and endothelial cells, retain viability and will readily differentiate and proliferate under appropriate conditions. Fibroblasts and endothelial cells exhibit good attachment and growth on most coated substrates, except on nano surfaced structured silicone.

Provided herein are biomimetic osteochondral implants that are generally useful for the at least partial resurfacing of damaged cartilage within a joint. The implants are constructed to have a modular, layered structure in which the physical properties (e.g., stiffness and lubricity) or dimensions of each layer can be adjusted (e.g., by using the appropriate material and controlling the thickness thereof) based on the anatomy to be replaced. For example, the material and or thicknesses of the layers can be selected to approximate the physical properties and/or dimensions of cartilage (and, optionally, chondral and subchondral bone). Also provided herein are methods of treatment involving the use of said biomimetic osteochondral implants to repair an osteochondral defect in a joint.

A stent including a mesh made of strands. The mesh has at least one radiopaque strand and at least one non-radiopaque strand, and the at least one radiopaque strand and the at least one non-radiopaque strand each have different diameters. Each strand has an index of wire stiffness EI, where EI is the mathematical product of the Young's modulus (E) and the second moment of area (I). The EI of all strands in the mesh is no more than five times the EI of the strand having the smallest EI of any of the strands.

In some aspects, the present invention is a medical implant with an independent endplate structure that can stimulate bone or tissue growth in or around the implant. When used as a scaffold for bone growth, the inventive structure can increase the strength of new bone growth. The independent endplate structures generally include implants with endplates positioned on opposite sides of the implant and capable of at least some movement relative to one another. In most examples, the endplates have a higher elastic modulus than that of the bulk of the implant to allow the use of an implant with a low elastic modulus, without risk of damage from the patient's bone. A method of designing independent endplate implants is also disclosed, including ranges of elastic moduli for the endplates and bulk of the implant for given implant parameters. Implants with elastic moduli within the ranges disclosed herein can optimize the loading of new bone growth to provide increased bone strength.

Devices and methods for orthopedic support are disclosed. The device can have a first rigid section hingedly attached to a second rigid section. A tunnel through the bone near the implantation target site can be created. The device can be inserted into and pass through and out of the tunnel to the target site.

An absorbable vascular filter is disclosed for deployment within a vessel for temporary filtering of body fluids. A preferred embodiment is the placement of such absorbable vascular filter within the inferior vena cava (IVC) to filter emboli for the prevention of pulmonary embolism for a limited duration in time. Once protection from PE is complete, the filter is sequentially biodegraded according to a planned schedule determined by the absorption properties of the filter components. Hence the temporary absorbable vascular filter obviates the long term complications of permanent IVC filters such as increased deep vein thrombosis, while also circumventing the removal requirement of metal retrievable IVC filters.

An intervertebral implant has a hollow space formed within the implant and accessible through an elongate opening extending through a recessed portion of the side wall, and the hollow space is shaped to receive an engagement portion of a drive shaft of an insertion tool; and the intervertebral implant includes at least two guiding surfaces facing each other and being configured for sliding engagement by a portion of a sleeve of the insertion tool movably holding the drive shaft.

A blood filter delivery system for delivering a filter into a vein from either a femoral or jugular access. The preferred system includes an introducer and a push-rod with a spline member disposed along the push-rod and a pusher member disposed on a distal end. The spline member has a main body, first and second boss portions spaced apart along the longitudinal axis to provide a gap for retaining anchor members of the filter during delivery via the introducer. In an alternative embodiment, a preferred filter includes first and second filter structures diverging in opposite directions. A link is connected to portions of each of the first and second filter structures so that each filter structure can be independently collapsed into a generally cylindrical shape.