Porous bidirectional bellowed tracheal reconstruction device

1. An implantable splinting device for supporting a defect in a passageway of a human or other animal subject comprising:

one or more bellow support structures together defining a structural component that substantially conforms to at least a portion of the passageway and a plurality of apertures defined in at least a portion of the one or more bellow support structures, wherein the one or more bellow support structures comprise a biocompatible polymeric material, so that the structural component is capable of restricting displacement to less than 10% under a direct compression load of about 50 Newtons (N), while permitting outward radial displacement of at least 100% of an initial diameter of the structural component under non-stress conditions under a radial pressure of about 50 Newtons (N).

2. The implantable splinting device of claim 1 , wherein the biomedically polymeric material is polycaprolactone and has a degradation time of from about 10 months to about 24 months.

3. The implantable splinting device of claim 1 , wherein the implantable splinting device is designed from a set of medical image data specific to the human or other animal subject.

4. The implantable splinting device of claim 1 , wherein the implantable splinting device is designed for placement around and substantially conforms to at least a portion of the passageway selected from the group consisting of: a trachea, a bronchi, an esophagus, and a blood vessel.

5. The implantable splinting device of claim 1 , wherein the passageway defect is selected from the group consisting of: tracheomalacia, tracheoesophageal fistula, tracheoinnominate fistula, congenital stenosis, acquired stricture, cancer (obstruction from tumors), idiopathic tracheomalacia, tracheal/airway reconstruction surgery, bronchomalacia, weakened veins and a coronary bypass.

6. The implantable splinting device of claim 1 , wherein the structural component has an inner diameter and an outer diameter, wherein the inner diameter ranges from greater than or equal to about 4 mm to less than or equal to about 30 mm and the outer diameter ranges from greater than or equal to about 5 mm to less than or equal to about 34 mm, and wherein the implantable splinting device has a length ranging from greater than or equal to about 10 mm to less than or equal to about 60 mm.

7. The implantable splinting device of claim 1 , wherein the biomedically polymeric material comprises a biodegradable polymer.

8. The implantable splinting device of claim 7 , wherein the biodegradable polymer is polycaprolactone.

9. The implantable splinting device of claim 1 , wherein the implantable splinting device further comprises a bioactive agent, wherein the bioactive agent is selected from the group consisting of: a cell adhesion factor, an isolated tissue material, a growth factor, a peptide, a cytokine, a hormone, a pharmaceutically active combinations, and combinations thereof.

10. The implantable splinting device of claim 9 , wherein the implantable splinting device comprises acellularized dermis, an acellularized tissue matrix, a composite of acellularized dermis matrix and polymer, or a composite of acellularized tissue matrix and polymer.

11. The implantable splinting device of claim 1 , wherein a wave period of the one or more bellow support structures is greater than or equal to about 1.5 mm to less than or equal to about 6 mm.

12. The implantable splinting device of claim 11 , wherein each of the one or more bellow support structures comprises a protruding region and a recessed region.

13. The implantable splinting device of claim 12 , wherein a first length of the protruding region is greater than or equal to about 1 mm to less than or equal to about 4 mm and a second length of the recessed region is greater than or equal to about 0.5 mm to less than or equal to about 2 mm.

14. The implantable splinting device of claim 1 , wherein the structural component further comprises a longitudinal opening formed within the one or more bellow support structures to facilitate placement of the implantable splinting device over the portion of the passageway and a width of the longitudinal opening ranges from greater than or equal to about 4 mm to less than or equal to about 15 mm.

15. The implantable splinting device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of apertures respectively has a diameter ranging from about 0.5 mm to about 3 mm.

16. A method of making an implantable splinting device for application to a passageway defect in a human or other animal subject comprising:

designing a structural component for the implantable splinting device from a set of medical image data of the passageway defect specific to the subject;

laser sintering or three-dimensional (3D) printing a biocompatible polymeric material to form the structural component comprising one or more bellow support structures that substantially conform to at least a portion of the passageway; and

integrating a plurality of pores within the structural component capable of receiving a suture for attaching the implantable splinting device to at least a portion of the passageway, wherein the structural component is capable of restricting displacement to less than 10% under a direct compression load of about 50 Newtons (N), while permitting outward radial displacement of at least 100% of an initial diameter of the structural component under non-stress conditions under a radial pressure of about 50 Newtons (N).

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the implantable splinting device is configured for placement around at least a portion of the passageway of the subject selected from the group consisting of: a trachea, a bronchi, an esophagus and a blood vessel.

18. Previously Presented) The method of claim 16 , wherein the biocompatible polymeric material is polycaprolactone and has a degradation time from about 10 months to about 24 months.