An orthopedic device for implanting between adjacent vertebrae comprising: an arcuate balloon and a hardenable material within said balloon. In some embodiments, the balloon has a footprint that substantially corresponds to a perimeter of a vertebral endplate. An inflatable device is inserted through a cannula into an intervertebral space and oriented so that, upon expansion, a natural angle between vertebrae will be at least partially restored. At least one component selected from the group consisting of a load-bearing component and an osteobiologic component is directed into the inflatable device through a fluid communication means.

Methods and apparatus for generating a patient-specific replacement body part. DICOM may be used to describe an anatomical portion of a patient and features may be differentiated that relate to a various biological systems. A user or a controller may designate a portion of features that relate to a biological system to be produced in a tangible model. A data file is generated that represents a surface geometry of a three-dimensional object representative of the portion of the features that relate to the biological system. Fabrication apparatus is operated to produce the object, which includes a tangible three-dimensional model of features that relate to the biological system.

Systems and methods for verifying the quality of patient specific implants are disclosed. A system can generate implant data, such as design files or fabrication instructions, for manufacturing the implant. The system can manage access to the implant data based on authentication levels. Based on the determined authentication level of the user requesting access to the implant data, the system can permit the user to access some or all of the implant data. The system can perform a quality check on a manufactured implant by scanning the manufactured implant to identify any errors in the manufactured implant.

An orthopedic device for implanting between adjacent vertebrae comprising: an arcuate balloon and a hardenable material within said balloon. In some embodiments, the balloon has a footprint that substantially corresponds to a perimeter of a vertebral endplate. An inflatable device is inserted through a cannula into an intervertebral space and oriented so that, upon expansion, a natural angle between vertebrae will be at least partially restored. At least one component selected from the group consisting of a load-bearing component and an osteobiologic component is directed into the inflatable device through a fluid communication means.

An orthopedic device for implanting between adjacent vertebrae comprising: an arcuate balloon and a hardenable material within said balloon. In some embodiments, the balloon has a footprint that substantially corresponds to a perimeter of a vertebral endplate. An inflatable device is inserted through a cannula into an intervertebral space and oriented so that, upon expansion, a natural angle between vertebrae will be at least partially restored. At least one component selected from the group consisting of a load-bearing component and an osteobiologic component is directed into the inflatable device through a fluid communication means.

An orthopedic device for implanting between adjacent vertebrae comprising: an arcuate balloon and a hardenable material within said balloon. In some embodiments, the balloon has a footprint that substantially corresponds to a perimeter of a vertebral endplate. An inflatable device is inserted through a cannula into an intervertebral space and oriented so that, upon expansion, a natural angle between vertebrae will be at least partially restored. At least one component selected from the group consisting of a load-bearing component and an osteobiologic component is directed into the inflatable device through a fluid communication means.

A system and method for transmitting implant data includes an orthopaedic implant, a wireless receiver, and a processing circuit electrically coupled to the wireless receiver. The orthopaedic implant is configured to transmit implant identification data and implant sensor data to the wireless receiver in response to a power signal. The orthopedic implant may transfer the data over, for example, a wireless network. The processing circuit receives the implant identification data and the implant sensor data from the wireless receiver and is configured to retrieve patient-related data from a database based on the implant identification data. The processing circuit may also be configured to update a patient queue, assign a patient room to a patient, and/or transmit the patient-related data and the implant sensor data to a client machine located in the patient room.

A method for designing a patient-specific implant includes obtaining image data of a region of interest of the spine of a patient, measuring one or more geometric characteristic of the region of interest from the image data, comparing a measurement obtained for at least one of the one or more geometric characteristics to a mathematical rule associated with the particular geometric characteristic, and generating three-dimensional implant geometry data if the measurement of the at least one of the one or more geometric characteristics conforms with the associated mathematical rule, the implant geometry data configured to guide an additive manufacturing operation.

An orthopedic measurement system is disclosed to measure leg alignment. The measurement system includes a tri-axial gyroscope configured to measure movement of a leg. The gyroscope is coupled to a tibia of the leg. For example, the gyroscope can be placed in an insert or tibial prosthetic component that couples to the tibia. The gyroscope is used to measure alignment relative to the mechanical axis of the leg. The leg alignment measurement is performed by putting the leg through a first leg movement and a second leg movement. The gyroscope outputs angular velocities on the axes the sensor is rotated about. The gyroscope is coupled to a computer that calculates the alignment of the leg relative to the mechanical axis from the gyroscope measurement data.

A method of manufacturing a surgical kit for cartilage repair in an articulating surface of a joint, comprising the steps of receiving radiology image data representing three dimensional image of a joint; generating a first three dimensional representation of a first surface of the joint in a trainable image segmentation process dependent on a trained segmentation process control parameter set and said radiology image data; generating a set of data representing a geometrical object based on said first surface, wherein said geometrical object is confined by said first surface; generating control software adapted to control a CAD or CAM system to manufacture a surgical kit for cartilage repair dependent on said set of data representing a geometrical object and on a predetermined model of components of said surgical kit.