MedShape (Atlanta, GA) received FDA clearance for its Morphix SP Suture Anchor. The device is made of PEEK Scoria, MedShape’s unique PEEK (polyetheretherketone ) based material that’s porous on its surface.
The core of the anchor is solid, allowing the implant to be structurally strong, while the porous surface promotes tissue to grow into its nooks and crannies. The material has been studied to evaluate how bone tissue grows into the porous surface and the results, compiled by Professor Bob Guldberg of Georgia Tech, will be presented at Orthopaedic Research Society Annual Meeting in March.
The surface, which is seamlessly applied to the solid core, has a 65% porosity and the holes are 300 microns on average.
Previous studies have reported the benefits of adding porosity to biomaterials to help support tissue in-growth around the implant.1 However to date, the use of porous polymers has been limited in orthopaedic load-bearing applications due to the loss in mechanical properties typically associated with introducing porosity in a material. Unlike other porous polymer materials, PEEK Scoria uses a proprietary processing method that seamlessly connects a porous surface to a solid base. This seamless structure maintains a shear strength twice that of trabecular bone while the overall material has mechanical strength, stiffness, and fatigue resistance in line with solid PEEK and greater than some implantable porous metals. This unique material was developed by a group of scientists and engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology through a grant from Solvay, a world leader in high-performance polymer technology.
Flashbacks: MORPHIX Anchor Wins in MDEA Competition…; ‘Shape-memory’ Polymers May Soon Aid Orthopedic Surgery…; MedShape Eclipse Soft Tissue to Bone Anchor Cleared in U.S…
Product page: Morphix SP Suture Anchor…
Press release: MedShape Introduces New Porous PEEK Suture Anchor…