What is a PEEK interbody cage?
PEEK spinal cages, also termed interbody fusion cages, are used in spinal fusion procedures to replace a damaged spinal disc and provide an ideal environment for two vertebrae to fuse together. Fusion is indicated when the spine is affected by a degenerative disorder or when it sustains an injury.
Who makes a PEEK cage?
icotec
icotec is the only company manufacturing spinal implants made of nonmetallic, radiolucent BlackArmor® Carbon/PEEK composite material. Implants made of BlackArmor® are biocompatible and have been successfully implanted for over 15 years.
What is a PEEK cage made of?
Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a non-absorbable biopolymer that has been used in a variety of industries including medical devices. The PEEK cages are biocompatible, radiolucent, and have modulus of elasticity similar to the bone.
Is PEEK stronger than titanium?
Titanium is a weight-bearing material that trades flexibility for strength. PEEK is much more flexible while still retaining impressive strength. In fact, natural PEEK’s modulus is nearly identical to cortical bone’s modulus, while titanium is much stiffer than bone.
What is the recovery time for spinal fusion surgery?
Spinal Fusion Recovery Time It typically takes about 4 to 6 weeks to return to an office or sedentary job, but it can take 3 months or longer to return to activities that are more physical. Despite the name of the surgery, the spine is not actually fused during a lumbar spinal fusion procedure.
What is Acdf surgery?
Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is a type of neck surgery that involves removing a damaged disc to relieve spinal cord or nerve root pressure and alleviate corresponding pain, weakness, numbness, and tingling.
Is PEEK stronger than aluminum?
The inherent low specific gravity of VICTREX PEEK (1.3 g/cm3) is less than half that of aluminium and one sixth that of steel. Carbon or glass fibers are added as structural reinforcements in PEEK compounds that have high strength and modulus properties similar to aluminium, but still much lower in density.
Is PEEK impact resistant?
The highest impact strength was 5.7 kJ/m2 for PEEK-pressed at 100 °C mold temperature and 4 kJ/m2 for PEEK-milled. The latter had a higher tensile strength of 118 MPa. The best result for PEEK-pressed was 97 MPa at 200 °C mold temperature.