Method of making, manufacturing or producing orthopedic soft tissue
AssigneeNew York Society for the Relief of the Ruptured and Crippled, Maintaining the Hospital for Special Surgery
InventorsTony Chen, Suzanne A. Maher, Russell Warren
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved method of making, manufacturing and/or producing engineered orthopedic soft tissue including cartilage, meniscus, annulus fibrosus, and tendon/ligaments which results in engineered soft tissue in which the fibers are aligned the same or nearly the same as naturally occurring tissue. The present invention also includes molds and other apparatus for carrying out the methods of the invention and kits.
Claims17
A method of making, manufacturing and/or producing engineered orthopedic soft tissue comprising:
- forming a polymer into a predefined shape using a mold;
- partially crosslinking the polymer without aligning fibers of the polymer;
- applying at least one external force to the partially crosslinked polymer;
- and
- further crosslinking the partially crosslinked polymer while the at least one external force is applied under conditions and for a time to allow the fiber orientation of the engineered orthopedic soft tissue to mimic or recapitulate the fiber orientation of naturally occurring orthopedic soft tissue, and wherein application of the at least one external force to the partially crosslinked polymer induces two or more internal forces that act in different directions directly on the partially crosslinked polymer.
A method of making, manufacturing and/or producing engineered orthopedic soft tissue comprising:
- applying more than one force to a polymer and crosslinking the polymer while the more than one forces are applied under conditions and for a time to allow fiber orientation of the engineered orthopedic soft tissue to mimic or recapitulate the fiber orientation of naturally occurring orthopedic soft tissue and wherein the more than one forces are applied in multiple and different directions,
- wherein the crosslinking is done by one or more freeze/thaw cycles, exposure to a chemical agent, or exposure to UV light, and
- wherein the freeze/thaw cycle comprises the steps of:
- a. ramping the temperature to about −20° C. at a rate of about 0.5° C./minute;
- b. freezing the polymer at about −20° C. for about 4 to about 24 hours;
- c. ramping the temperature to about 20° C. at a rate of about 0.5° C./minute;
- and
- d. thawing the polymer at about 20° C. for about 4 to about 12 hours.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.