RTI Surgical, a global surgical implant company, has announced that the first human implantation of the company’s map3 Cellular Allogeneic Bone Graft Strips Allograft took place during an anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) procedure last week.
The map3 Strips Allograft implant will expand the company’s current cellular allogeneic bone graft portfolio when it launches later in 2014.
Map3 Strips Allograft is an implant that contains the three essential elements necessary for bone formation in a single allograft: a three-dimensional osteoconductive scaffold, demineralized bone matrix (DBM) that demonstrates verified osteoinductive potential and multipotent adult progenitor (MAPC) class cells that provide osteogeneic and angiogeneic signals to support the bone healing process.
This moldable implant is designed for ease of use, and its flexible yet cohesive properties make it ideal for filling bone voids in applications such as small joint repair, irregular defects or as an onlay in the posterolateral spine.
Henry Ford Hospital neurosurgeon Dr Vittorio Morreale said that Map3 Cellular Allogeneic Bone Graft is a promising biologic implant, and the strips configuration offers another option.
"Not only does map3 have a three-dimensional osteoconductive scaffold but it also has DBM that demonstrates verified osteoinductive potential and viable MAPC-class cells that provide osteogeneic and angiogeneic signals. Both configurations provide excellent handling and surgical placement of the implant, and the addition of strips gives me options depending on what the case needs," Dr Morreale added.
The map3 cellular allogeneic bone graft is a natural and safe alternative to autograft. Map3 incorporates MAPC-based technology with stem cells isolated from the same donor as the bone material. The MAPC technology, licensed from Athersys for this orthopedic application, represents a distinctive type of stem cell with recognized angiogenic and immuno-modulatory properties.