3-D Imaged Osteoinductive Ceramic Composite Biomaterial

DESCRIPTION: This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will provide essential information about developing a computerized process for producing customized and mass produced osteoinductive implants for bone repair and augmentation, which are produced from hollow CaP microspheres with and without bone growth factor coated onto and within their surfaces. This customized implant would be an improved and more predictable replacement therapy over retrieved human bone tissues such as demineralized bone matrix, and bone segments. The technology evolved from this project will establish a basis for using other growth factors and cell lines for alternative tissue engineered therapies. Experiments will be conducted to develop equipment and materials, which can bond CaP hollow microspheres into predictably dimensioned 3-dimensional forms directly from computer tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of patient bone defects. Additional experiments will be conducted to determine strength of monolithic forms fabricated by this process. A cost model for producing implants will be developed, which will also provide a database for future optimization of other tissue engineered implants. The primary markets that this technology will address are oral maxillofacial and orthopedic bone repair markets with potential markets in excess of a billion dollars.