Porous material and method for fabricating same

Abstract

A method for fabricating a porous structure from a first material. The method comprises the acts of mixing the first material with a second material to form a mixture, the first material having a melting point which is lower than the second material, heating the mixture under pressure to a temperature between a melting point of the first material and a melting point of the second material, cooling the molten mixture until it hardens and removing the second material from the first material. The method may also include a subsequent annealing step. There is also described a material suitable for implant, illustratively vertebral or spinal implants, comprising a rigid biocompatible polymer such as PEEK comprising a plurality of interconnected pores. The polymer illustratively has a porosity of between 50% and 85% by volume and in a particular embodiment is able to withstand pressures of up to 20 MPa. The porous PEEK material may also have a minimum thickness in any dimension of one (1) inch.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.