Red light implant for treating osteoporosis
Red light implants for delivering red light to spinal implants to enhance osteointegration.
1. A method of treating a vertebra, comprising the steps of:
a)-implanting an implant comprising a red/NIR light source into a cancellous bone region of the vertebra, and
b)-activating the red/NIR light source to irradiate the cancellous bone region with an effective amount of red/NIR light.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the implant is a pedicle screw.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the implant is a motion disc.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the red/NIR light is delivered in an amount effective to enhance the integration of the implant into the cancellous bone region.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the red/NIR light is delivered through a helix.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the red/NIR light is delivered through an LED.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the red/NIR light has a wavelength of between about 600 nm and about 1000 nm.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the red/NIR light irradiates a portion of the cancellous bone region with between about 0.02 J/cm 2 and 200 J/cm 2 energy.
9. A method of treating a vertebra, comprising the steps of:
implanting an implant comprising a red/NIR light source into the vertebra,
injecting a paste into a cancellous region around the implant, and
activating the red/NIR light source to irradiate the cancellous region with an effective amount of red/NIR light.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the paste is resorbable.
11. The method of claim 9 wherein the paste is selected from the group consisting of HA, CaP and mixtures thereof.
12. The method of claim 9 wherein the red/NIR light is delivered in an amount effective to enhance the integration of the implant into the cancellous bone region.
13. The method of claim 9 wherein the red/NIR light is delivered to the cancellous region through a helix.
14. The method of claim 9 wherein the red/NIR light is delivered to the cancellous region through an LED.
15. The method of claim 9 wherein the red/NIR light has a wavelength of between about 600 nm and about 1000 nm.
16. The method of claim 9 wherein the red/NIR light irradiates a portion of the cancellous bone region with between about 0.02 J/cm 2 and 200 J/cm 2 energy.