Patent Awarded for Novel Programmable Truss Implant Technology

4WEB Medical, a developer of 3D printed orthopedic implants, announced at the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS) annual meeting that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued US Patent No. 9,271,845 B2, entitled “Programmable Implants and Methods of Using Programmable Implants to Repair Bone Structures.” The issued claims in the patent cover truss and strut-based lattice implant designs that transfer bone specific biologic strain to adjacent cellular material when loaded, foundational concepts exhibited in 4WEB’s Programmable Truss Implant Technology. This patent adds to 4WEB’s IP portfolio of over 20 issued and pending patents filed in the U.S. and internationally.
 
Jessee Hunt, president and CEO of 4WEB, commented, “We are very pleased to have this patent issued. With much of the industry trying to catch up to 4WEB as it relates to 3D printed implants, it is important for us to be able to protect not only the design but also the stimulative nature of our programmable truss implants.”
 
4WEB Medical’s Programmable Truss Implant Technology is based on engineering principles such as truss design, contact mechanics, and adjacent material reaction. Foundational to truss design is the concept that load creates strain in each of the strut members. Preliminary lab testing has shown that when loaded, the mechanical strain in the struts is transferred to adjacent cellular material, stimulating gene expression consistent with bone formation. Ongoing studies are being conducted to determine what effect cyclic loading on 4WEB’s Programmable Truss Implants will have on collagen, alkaline phosphatase, bone morphogeneic proteins (BMPs), and osteocalcin gene expression; all of which are markers for osteogenesis.
 
The company believes that this patent affords significant protection in its ongoing pursuit towards optimized, patient specific implants engineered to stimulate and accelerate the healing process. “Inherent in any patient specific implant is the need to modify and optimize the design based on constraints presented by the patient. This patent establishes protection around the design variables required to modify these advanced implants to contain strain ranges that function synergistically with the patient. 4WEB’s Programmable Truss Implant Technology provides a next generation design pathway for the company’s proven interbody devices currently being used for anterior, posterior lumbar and cervical procedures,” said John Peloza, M.D., orthopedic spine surgeon in Dallas, Texas. Over 10,000 truss implants have been implanted since 2013 throughout the US, Europe and Australia.
 
4WEB Medical is an implant device company founded in 2008 in Frisco, Texas. Thirty years of research in topological dimension theory led to the discovery of a novel geometry, the 4WEB, which can be used as a building block to create high-strength, lightweight web structures. The company leveraged this breakthrough along with cutting-edge 3D printing technology to develop 4WEB Medical’s proprietary truss implant platform. The 4WEB Medical product portfolio includes an array of implant solutions for Neurological and Orthopedic surgeons. The platform consists of the Cervical Spine Truss System, the ALIF Spine Truss System, the Posterior Spine Truss System, and the Osteotomy Truss System. 4WEB is actively developing truss implant designs for knee, hip, trauma, and patient specific procedures.