Process for regenerating bone and cartilage

US5837235A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Sulzer Medizinaltechnik AG · CH

Inventors

• Werner H. Mueller · Port Aransas, US
• Thomas Thaler · Jena, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: May 9, 1996
• Grant date: Nov 17, 1998
• Expiry date: May 9, 2016

Classification

• Technology area (CPC A): Human Necessities
• CPC primary: A61L2430/06
• WIPO field: Pharmaceuticals
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

Bone and cartilage are regenerated in a patient by a process of removing fatty tissue such as omentum tissue from a patient, comminuting the tissue to form small tissue particles, suspending the particles in a liquid to form a suspension, depositing the suspension on a solid carrier to prepare a solid implanting material, implanting the implanting material in a patient in an environment favoring bone or cartilage formation, and regenerating bone or cartilage in the patient. The carrier can be demineralized bone, collagen, mineral material or synthetic polymer material in pulverulent, textile, porous particle or monolith form. A cell adhesion agent may be applied to the carrier or added to the suspension, and a growth factor may be deposited on the carrier. Comminuting is performed by digesting with an enzyme and/by mechanically comminuting. Liquid used to form the suspension may contain a gel precursor which is gelled after the suspension is deposited to the carrier. Preferably, the implanting material is implanted within about 1 hour of removing the fatty tissue from the patient.