| abstract |
Bone repair or augmentation devices comprising a porous body (2) comprising pores (4), the porous body comprising a portion with a reinforcing agent within the pores of that portion of the porous body (8). Methods of making bone augmentation or repair devices are also provided, the devices having a perimeter and an internal region, the method comprising: (a) mixing a biodegradable reinforcing agent with a biomaterial selected from the group comprising ceramic materials and bioactive glasses to form a mixture; (b) heating the mixture to above the softening point of the reinforcing agent; (c) moulding the mixture around at least a portion of the internal region. A further method is a device having a depth, width, a perimeter and internal region, the method comprising: (i) forming a porous body, the porous body comprising a ceramic material having a plurality of pores (ii) placing a mask on at least the upper surface of the porous body to cover some of the pores and to leave some of the pores exposed (iii) at least partially filling the exposed pores with a reinforcing agent and (iv) removing the mask from at least the upper surface of the porous body to expose pores located under the mask. |