U.S. Patent Granted for Soft Tissue Reconstruction Implant

(USPTO.gov)

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded a patent to Novus Scientific in Singapore for a resorbable mesh implant to be used in the reconstruction of soft tissue defects. The patent — number 8,083,755 — covers the mesh implant material that breaks down and is assimilated back into the body.

Novus Scientific developed the mesh implant, marketed under the name Tigr Matrix, to reinforce soft tissues like those in the abdominal wall damaged by hernia. The mesh implant supports the regenerating tissue in healing and works by mechanically closing the defect and inducing the growth of scar fibrous tissue around the mesh implant.

The implant includes two sets of materials designed to support the regenerating tissue, but eventually degrade in and are absorbed by the body. Current implants often use plastics that the company says may be biologically stable and safe for for a number of years after implantation. However, introducing a permanent implant made of foreign material in the body runs the risk of inflammation, infection, or migration.

The Novus Scientific implant was tested in preclinical studies on sheep with abdominal wall defects testing the Tigr Matrix mesh against non-resorbable polypropylene mesh. The researchers tested the regeneration of collagen at five points from 4 to 36 months. The findings, published in the World Journal of Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery, show equivalent rates of healing between the resorbable and polypropylene mesh. However, the subjects with polypropylene mesh developed chronic inflammation during the 36-month period. The resorbable Tigr Mesh gradually degraded with only microscopic implant residues remaining.

The company says Tigr Matrix has received 510(k) clearance, or premarket notification, from the Food and Drug Administration for sales in the U.S. and a CE Mark for marketing in Europe.

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