Disclosed herein are elastic, bioresorbable encasements for medical implants, methods for making the same and uses thereof.

Hard-tissue implants are provided that include a bulk implant, a face, pillars, slots, and at least one support member. The pillars are for contacting a hard tissue. The slots are to be occupied by the hard tissue. The at least one support member is for contacting the hard tissue. The hard-tissue implant has a Young's modulus of elasticity of at least 3 GPa, and has a ratio of the sum of (i) the volumes of the slots to (ii) the sum of the volumes of the pillars and the volumes of the slots of 0.40:1 to 0.90:1. Methods of making and using hard-tissue implants are also provided.

The disclosure provides a cartilage substitute, which includes at least one cartilage unit, the cartilage unit including: a base, including a subcutaneous layer portion forming contact friction with a corresponding skeleton, a deep layer area portion contacting with a target skeleton and an intermediate layer portion provided between the subcutaneous layer portion and the deep layer area portion. A fluid storage cavity is disposed in the subcutaneous layer portion. A first communicating passage is disposed in the subcutaneous layer portion. A second communicating passage is disposed in the intermediate layer portion, a third communicating passage is disposed in the deep layer area portion. The fluid storage cavity, the second communicating passage and the third communicating passage are disposed to gradually increase hardness of the subcutaneous layer portion, the intermediate layer portion and the deep layer area portion.

A bone structural device including a plurality of bone structural segments, wherein adjacent bone structural segments are pivotally connected to one another about a pivot axis, and the bone structural segments are expandable in height, which is in a direction generally parallel to the pivot axis.

Embodiments of an artificial meniscus implant are disclosed herein. An artificial meniscus includes at least one circumferential fiber and at least one non-circumferential fiber embedded within an arc-shaped body. The non-circumferential fibers may form loops extending through a peripheral edge of the implant, and the circumferential fibers may extend out of anterior and posterior horns of the implant to terminate in ends that are configured for fixation to bone. The ends may be interconnected, and covered by horn extensions to protect the ends from wear at the bone interface. Methods of making and implanting artificial meniscus are also disclosed herein. The method of making includes stepwise molding, layering, and curing of polymer material around the circumferential fibers and sewing the non-circumferential fibers into the polymer material. Methods of implanting may include threading ends of circumferential fibers through first and second bone tunnels.

A method and apparatus can include: a delivery tool having an insertion mandrel; an implant having a distal segment coupled to a proximal segment, the proximal segment having a proximal segment upper and a proximal segment lower, the distal segment having a distal segment upper and a distal segment lower, the implant including: a straight configuration based on the insertion mandrel being extended through the proximal segment and the distal segment, and a curved configuration based on the insertion mandrel being retracted from the distal segment; and an expansion mandrel configured for insertion into the implant, the implant including an expanded configuration based on the expansion mandrel being inserted between the proximal segment upper and the proximal segment lower, and being inserted between the distal segment upper and the distal segment lower.

Hard-tissue implants are provided that include a bulk implant, a face, pillars, slots, and at least one support member. The pillars are for contacting a hard tissue. The slots are to be occupied by the hard tissue. The at least one support member is for contacting the hard tissue. The hard-tissue implant has a Young's modulus of elasticity of at least 3 GPa, and has a ratio of the sum of (i) the volumes of the slots to (ii) the sum of the volumes of the pillars and the volumes of the slots of 0.40:1 to 0.90:1. Methods of making and using hard-tissue implants are also provided.

Osteogenesis scaffold such as for spinal fusion or an intermedullary nail includes a number of arcuate struts. The scaffold may have a functional modulus of elasticity that is a result of the modulus of the material of the struts together with the architecture of the struts, and may be within the range of 5 GPa and 75 GPa. An anisotropy of a physical property such as stiffness, compressive strength or elastic modulus corresponds to the same physical property of native bone in the vicinity of the intended implantation site.

Hard-tissue implants are provided that include a bulk implant, a face, pillars, slots, and at least one support member. The pillars are for contacting a hard tissue. The slots are to be occupied by the hard tissue. The at least one support member is for contacting the hard tissue. The hard-tissue implant has a Young's modulus of elasticity of at least 3 GPa, and has a ratio of the sum of (i) the volumes of the slots to (ii) the sum of the volumes of the pillars and the volumes of the slots of 0.40:1 to 0.90:1. Methods of making and using hard-tissue implants are also provided.

A synthetic material can comprise a plurality of rigid components. Each rigid component can be spaced from each adjacent rigid component to define respective interstices between each rigid component and each adjacent rigid component. A flexible material can be disposed within each respective interstice and can extend between and connect to adjacent rigid components.