Appeal 2006-1953
Application 10/195,347
BACKGROUND
Articular cartilage lines the surfaces of opposing bones in some joints
(Specification 1). “[W]hen articular cartilage tissue is no longer healthy it
can cause debilitating pain in the joint” (id.).
The Specification discloses “an implantable, biodegradable cartilage
repair device” (id. at 7: 5-6). The application’s Figure 1 is reproduced
below:
The figure is said to show a cartilage repair “device 10 [that] includes
an anchor 12 which is anchored . . . in both a section of native cartilage 16
and the underlying subchondral bone 18” (id. at 10: 14-16). “The cartilage
repair device 10 also includes a scaffold or plug 26. The plug 26 is secured
to the anchor 12. . . . [T]he plug 26 functions as a chondrogenic growth-
supporting matrix for promoting a positive cellular response in an effort to
achieve articular cartilage regeneration” (id. at 11: 1-8).
“One or both of the plug and the anchor may be formed from naturally
occurring extracellular matrix,” or ECM (id. at 7: 19-20). “One such ECM
2
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