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US 12,685,616 B2Granted
Methods for additively manufacturing medical devices using bioglass fiber reinforced polymers
AssigneeAlign Technology, Inc.
InventorsJürgen Stampfl, Yan Chen, Chunhua Li, Peter Dorfinger, Alexander Hochwallner
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are methods for manufacturing medical devices, such as implants, joint replacements, graft materials, augmentation materials, prosthetic materials, etc., from solid material reinforced curable resins. Methods of repositioning a patient's teeth using such medical devices are also provided.
Claims20
A method of manufacturing a finished product for a medical device, the method comprising:
- providing a curable resin comprising a solid material dispersed therethrough, wherein the cured resin has a first solubility, and the solid material has a second solubility, wherein the second solubility is at least 102 times greater than the first solubility in water at 25° C. and a pH of 7;
- curing a portion of the curable resin, thereby forming a cured resin;
- and
- separating an uncured portion of the curable resin from the cured resin, thereby producing the medical device comprising the cured resin;
- and
- treating the cured resin with a solvent to remove a portion of the solid material exposed from a surface of the cured resin while retaining another portion of the solid material embedded within the cured resin.
3 more elements
A method of manufacturing a surface modified device, the method comprising:
- providing a curable resin comprising a reinforcement material dispersed therethrough;
- curing a portion of the curable resin, thereby forming a cured resin with a first portion of the reinforcement material embedded within the cured resin and a second portion of the reinforcement material exposed from a surface of the cured resin;
- separating an uncured portion of the curable resin from the cured resin;
- and
- removing at least a portion of the second portion of the reinforcement material, thereby forming the surface modified device, wherein the removing comprises dissolving the at least a portion of the second portion of the reinforcement material.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.