Granted Patent B2

US 12,661,230 · App. 18/735,451 · Granted Jun 23, 2026

Inventors: Jonathan M. Dewey (Memphis, TN); Michael L. Sutton (Coldwater, MS); Jerald L. Redmond (Germantown, TN)

Assignee: WARSAW ORTHOPEDIC, INC.

A61F2/30942A61F2/442A61F2/4611A61F2002/30065A61F2002/30952A61F2002/30971A61F2002/30985

Abstract

Claims (39)

1 . A method for growing an implant in-situ, comprising:

positioning, in a first positioning step, a dispensing component within or adjacent to an interbody access space that provides access to an intervertebral disc space defined by a first vertebra and a second vertebra of a patient;

sensing a bone quality by a gauge of the dispensing component; and

obtaining one or more parameters for printing the first printing material based on the bone quality;

printing, in a first printing step, a first printing material within or adjacent to the interbody access space within the patient, the first printing material being printed during the first printing step in accordance with the parameters; and

printing, in a second printing step, a second printing material within or adjacent to the interbody access space within the patient,

wherein the first printing material is in contact with the second printing material.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first printing material is rigid and the second printing material is pliable.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second printing material is applied directly on the first printing material during the second printing step.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising allowing the first printing material to cool or solidify into a rigid material prior to performance of the second printing step.

5 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the rigid material limits an amount of heat that the patient is exposed to from the second printing material during the second printing step.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first printing material comprises a biocompatible material or a bone-growth-promoting material.

7 . The method according to claim 6 , wherein the second printing material comprises metal.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second printing material comprises a plurality of beads.

9 . The method according to claim 8 , further comprising applying a catalyst to convert a physical state of the beads.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the parameters comprise a volume of printing material, a surface area to be covered by printing material, and printing material layer channeling.

11 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

providing an additive-manufacturing system including a robotic subsystem and a controller apparatus having a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing in-situ-printing instructions; and

executing the in-situ-printing instructions to control the robotic subsystem to perform the first and second printing steps.

12 . A method for growing an implant in-situ, comprising:

positioning, in a first positioning step, a dispensing component within or adjacent to an interbody access space that provides access to an intervertebral disc space defined by a first vertebra and a second vertebra of a patient;

printing, in a first printing step, a first printing material within or adjacent to the interbody access space within the patient; and

printing, in a second printing step, a second printing material within or adjacent to the interbody access space within the patient;

wherein the first printing material is in contact with the second printing material wherein the second printing material comprises a plurality of beads, and the method further comprises applying a catalyst to convert a physical state of the beads; and

wherein:

the additive-manufacturing system further comprises a provisioning component affecting flow of printing material to or through the dispensing component; and

the controller apparatus, in the first and second printing steps, controls the provisioning component based on dispensing-component movement data to control a rate at which the printing material is dispensed.

13 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first printing step comprises depositing a first layer of a first type of printing material within or adjacent to the interbody access space, and the second printing step comprises depositing a second layer of a different second type of printing material on the first layer.

14 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising printing, in a third printing step, another rigid material within or adjacent to the interbody access space, and wherein the pliable material of the second printing step is surrounded by the rigid material of the first printing step and the another rigid material of the third printing step.

15 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising printing, in a third printing step, a third printing material and a fourth printing material at the same time.

16 . A method for growing an implant in-situ, comprising:

positioning, in a first positioning step, a dispensing component within or adjacent to an interbody access space that provides access to an intervertebral disc space defined by a first vertebra and a second vertebra of a patient;

printing, in a first printing step, a first printing material within or adjacent to the interbody access space within the patient; and

printing, in a second printing step, a second printing material within or adjacent to the interbody access space within the patient, wherein the first printing material is in contact with the second printing material;

obtaining sensor data generated by one or more sensors of the dispensing component, wherein the sensor data indicates that a shape or position of tissue of the patient;

performing operations, by a system controller, to adjust an in-situ-printing plan based on the sensor data; and

controlling operations of the dispensing component in accordance with the in-situ printing plan for completing growth of the implant in-situ after the second printing step.

17 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising printing one or more bone anchors in the patient before, while or after growing the implant in-situ during the first and second printing steps.

18 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising printing, in the second printing step or a third printing step, an interface feature that is configured to facilitate a connection between the implant and another implant.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (6)

References Cited (63)