Hydrogel-based prosthetic device for replacing at least a part of the nucleus of a spinal disc
US7204897B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 23, 2004 |
| Grant date | Apr 17, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 29, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61L2430/38
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention is a prosthetic for replacement of at least a part of the nucleus of a intravertebral disc. The prosthetic device is composed of at least two essentially parallel soft layers of an elastically deformable hydrogel and at least one rigid layer, the rigid layer having less compressibility than the soft layers, being adjacent to the soft layers, parallel to them, and firmly attached to them. In some embodiments, the soft layers have the same thickness and composition. Typically, the prosthesis has more than one rigid layer and these rigid layers have the same thickness and composition. The number of soft layers is usually one more than the number of rigid layers, with, e.g., at least three soft layers. The invention also includes a method of prosthesis production, which involves prefabricating soft and rigid layers; stacking at least two prefabricated soft and at least one prefabricated rigid layer in a parallel fashion into their final form, and, permitting the layers to firmly connect to one another by mutual interaction. In this method, at least one type of the layers is prefabricated in the dehydrated state, which is done by dehydrating stretched foil in an ap…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.