Devices and methods for treating defects in the tissue of a living being

Patent Number: 7,166,133

Non-healing bone injuries pose a significant burden on our medical system. This new patent owned by the Kensey Nash Corporation provides a novel method for accelerating bone healing through providing an implantable matrix that contains collagen and "osteoinductive" factors. These factors may be proteins or cells according to the invention.

The first independent claim of the patent covers an implant useful for repair or regeneration of bone. The implant is made of both soluble and native collagen with a porous structure, the pores of the structure have a dimensions of a minimum of 100 micro meters. The implant of the first independent claim may contain, intra alia: biodegradable polymers, growth factors, cells, osteoinductive agents, and microspheres. In some of the dependent claims, the implant contains delayed release formulations of the growth factors.

The second independent claim is a modification of the first in that the implant is provided in the form of a "sponge and a loose, fibrous material".

View this patent on the USPTO website.