Dissolvable Implants Enhance the Body’s Ability to Heal Broken Bones

The Houston Methodist Center for Musculoskeletal Regeneration recognizes that the human body has an incredible capacity for healing and develops biomimetic implantables to augment these processes.

Center Director and Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery Francesca Taraballi, PhD, and her colleagues have demonstrated that all regenerative processes Francesca Taraballi, PhD Bradley K. Weiner, MD depend on a complex dialogue among different types of cells. They have developed a collagen-based scaffold device called 3 Zonal Membrane (3ZM), which is currently in cGMP production, that enhances the structure and composition of growing bones to quickly repair complex fractures that would usually result in high infection rates, slow/incomplete healing or amputation.

3ZM

Steps in Healing Process

In preclinical models, 3ZM guided immune, stem and bone membrane cells that remodeled the area into functional bone. Within six weeks, the fracture healed and the implanted materials were absorbed by the body, leaving the bone strong.

The center was awarded $6 million by the U.S. Department of Defense under the leadership of Bradley Weiner, MD, professor of clinical orthopedic surgery, to complete preclinical cGMP assessment of 3ZM technology for a pre-Investigational Device Exemption regulatory consultation with the Food and Drug Administration. The center leaders have worked with industry partners and regulatory experts and policymakers to identify an accelerated path to clinical application.

3ZM Steps in Healing Process

3 Zonal Membrane (3ZM) is cut and shaped to fit the defect site and then sutured to the

surrounding periosteum. The process requires only one operation and no additional growth factors. After four to six weeks, the bone is fully healed, and the 3ZM is absorbed.