Antimicrobial articles produced by additive manufacturing

Abstract

An antibiotic-eluting article for implantation into a mammalian subject, produced by an additive manufacturing process wherein a polymeric material is concurrently deposited with a selected antibiotic. The additive manufacturing process may be a selective laser sintering process or a selective laser melting process or a selective heat sintering process or an electron beam melting process. The antibiotic-eluting article may be temporary or permanent orthopaedic skeletal component, an orthopaedic articulating joint replacement component, and / or an external hard-shell casing for an implantable device. One or more bone-growth-promoting compositions may be concurrently deposited with the polymeric material. The implantable device may be a cardiac pacemaker, a spinal cord stimulator, a neurostimulation system, an intrathecal drug pump for delivery of medicants into the spinal fluid, and infusion pump for delivery of chemotherapeutics and / or anti-spasmodics, an insulin pump, an osmotic pump, and a heparin pump.

Description

technical field [0001] Various embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to implantable medical devices. More specifically, this paper relates to implantable medical devices having antimicrobial properties in their structure and on their surfaces. [0002] technical background [0003] Many types of medical devices have been developed for implantation in a patient's body. For example, it has become common practice for dentists to provide their patients with custom dental prostheses and / or implants to replace non-functional or missing teeth. Such surrogate prostheses and / or implants can be individually designed and prepared for precise fitting to specific intended sites. It has become routine practice to place a pacemaker device under the skin in the chest area or in the abdomen of patients with abnormal or irregular heart contractions. Patients with debilitating degenerative diseases affecting their joints and / or bone elements are now able to restore their There is a ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

In addition, drug-eluting implants are known to be less effective over time and are limited by drug loading limits during implant preparation

Implants with drug-loaded grooves / fissures avoid infection around the fissure for some time, but are susceptible to microbial colonization and biofilm formation on their surface areas away from the groove / fissure location

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