| abstract |
This invention provides a novel unitary bone implant having at least one rigid, mineralized bone segment, which may be machined to include threads, grooves, a driver head, perforations, a recess or a symmetric or asymmetric shape, and a flexible, demineralized segment, which may also be machined to any desired shape prior to demineralization, or after demineralization. The implant of this invention has wide orthopedic applicability, including but not limited to repair or replacement of ligaments, tendons and joints and for inducing vertebral fusions and fractured bone repair. In a particular embodiment of this invention, selective uptake of biologically active or inactive materials into the segmentally demineralized portion of the implant is disclosed. |