Patent ID: 7879103

Claim:
An implant for non-fusion repair of a defective vertebral disc which occupies a space between a superior vertebra and an inferior vertebra and which includes an annulus fibrosus having outer and inner walls and a nuclear cavity having a boundary bordered by the inner wall of the annulus fibrosus and by the superior and inferior vertebrae, said implant comprising: an exterior surface and a porous load-bearing body defining said exterior surface and having an original shape selected to at least partially fill the nuclear cavity of the defective vertebral disc, said body being formed from substantially demineralized, non-osteoinductive bone such that said body is deformable from its said original shape into a compressed shape that facilitates the insertion of said body into the nuclear cavity of the defective vertebral disc, said body having shape memory such that it assumes its said original shape in response to its exposure to fluid, said body being sized and shaped such that said exterior surface is engageable with a substantial portion of the boundary of the nuclear cavity of the defective vertebral disc when said body assumes its said original shape after insertion into the nuclear cavity of the defective vertebral disc, and wherein said body includes a first section made of cortical bone and a second section made of cancellous bone.