Appeal No. 1998-2813
Application No. 08/463,203
20-30, wherein it is noted that a defined porosity can be
introduced into the implant by various methods and that such
processes "offer a range of porosities available to tailor FFM
devices to specific applications." While Fink does indicate that
the methods therein can be used to provide an implant that
replicates bone, we observe that this patent also teaches
secondary manipulation of the "design file" to compensate for the
anticipated healing process, prior to forming the "sliced file"
that is actually used to fabricate the implant (col. 5, lines
44+). Moreover, Fine also discloses (col. 6, line 20, et. seq.)
that while the implant may be matched to the precise anatomical
dimensions of the original tissue, it may also be modified to
compensate for the anticipated healing responses or to provide
for surgical-assist structures. Thus, appellants' arguments that
Fink deals strictly with replication of bone and that the
porosity of bone is smaller than that necessary to allow seeding
of cells mischaracterize the disclosure of Fink and are therefore
of no moment. In this regard, we again note that Fink discloses
that pore sizes of "at least" 200-300 micrometers in diameter are
necessary in osteoconductive materials to permit ingrowth of
vasculature and osteogenic cells, and that a known matrix
material is composed of a network of interconnecting pores in the
range of approximately 200 µm diameter.
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