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 continuous device (1) is provided for impregnating, in a single step, strands or ribbons of natural fibers (100) with a specific aqueous polymer dispersion to consolidate the fibers at the core of the fiber bundle and to improve their mechanical strength without any need for twisting. The device includes a stretching component (10) for elongating by the strand or the ribbon of natural fibers by stretching to give them a required yarn count, an impregnating component (20) for impregnating the fibers with the aqueous dispersion, a shaper for shaping/calibrating the wrung fibers, a dryer (40) for drying the shaped/calibrated fibers, and a conditioner (50) for conditioning the dried fibers to transform them into yarn or ribbon.

A composite comprising: a barrier, said barrier being configured to selectively pass water, and said barrier being degradable in the presence of water; a matrix material for disposition within said barrier, wherein said matrix material has a flowable state and a set state, and wherein said matrix material is degradable in the presence of water; and at least one reinforcing element for disposition within said barrier and integration with said matrix material, wherein said at least one reinforcing element is degradable in the presence of water, and further wherein, upon the degradation of said at least one reinforcing element in the presence of water, provides an agent for modulating the degradation rate of said matrix material in the presence of water.

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.

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.

Disclosed is a glass fiber-silsesquioxane composite molded article containing glass fibers and a cured material of a silsesquioxane polymer composited therewith, wherein the silsesquioxane has a polyhedral structure or a partially polyhedral structure. The glass fiber-silsesquioxane composite molded article is preferably obtained by impregnating glass fibers with a composition containing at least one of silsesquioxanes represented by formula (A-1) to (A-3) and at least one of a curing agent, a polymerization initiator, and a hydrosilylation catalyst, or the silsesquioxane polymer and allowing a curing reaction to proceed. ##STR00001##

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.