This technology is a composite patch made of carbon nanotubes and graphene that can be used to repair the annulus in herniated lumbar discs.
The current primary means of alleviating pain from lumbar disc herniation is surgery, which can present risks for nerve damage. Removing the damaged disc material can further weaken the disc and lead to recurrent herniation, which can require additional surgeries. Although some interventions have been proposed to assist in disc self-repair, these devices lack the strength to hold the herniation in place when patients move and bend, and there is currently no effective non-surgical treatment.
This technology utilizes carbon nanotubes and/or graphene as an implant or patch for repairing biological tissues, including the annulus fibrosus tissue in the case of herniated disks. This method uses carbon nanotubes and graphene to form a composite patch integrated onto a polymer matrix to serve as mechanical support to the annulus fibrous in a herniated vertebrate disc. These nanomaterials are some of the strongest and stiffest known materials and growth factors are attached to the structure to facilitate self-repair of collagen fibers in the annulus. The composite patch is implanted on an adhesive side on the inner side of the defect of the annulus fibrosis, where the materials can resist the biological forces that occur with sitting and standing to assist in healing the herniated disc. As a result, this technology not only provides an improved method for repairing the annulus fibrosus tissue, but can also be used for repairing a variety of other tissues including, musculoskeletal tissue, fascia tissue, dura tissue, epidermal tissue, blood vessels and arteries, and organs.
This technology has been validated in human cadavers.
Patent Pending (US 20160030640)
IR CU13237
Licensing Contact: Greg Maskel