As used herein, "implant" refers to a medical device manufactured to replace a missing biological structure, support a damaged biological structure, or enhance an existing biological structure. Often medical implants are man-made devices, but implants can also be natural occurring structures. The surface of implants that contact the body may be made of, or include a biomedical material such as titanium, cobalt chrome, stainless steel, carbon fiber, another metallic alloy, silicone, polymer, Synthetic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels, biomaterials, biocompatible polymers such as PolyEther Ether Ketone (PEEK) or a polylactide polymer (e.g. PLLA) and/or others, or apatite, or any combination of these depending on what is functional and/or economical. Implants can have a variety of configurations and can be wholly, partially, and/or include a number of components that are flexible, semiflexible, pliable, elastic, supple, semi-rigid, or rigid. In some cases implants contain electronics, e.g. artificial pacemaker and cochlear implants. Some implants are bioactive, such as subcutaneous drug delivery devices in the form of implantable pills or drug-eluting stents. Orthopedic implants may be used to alleviate issues with bones and/or joints of a patient's body. Some implants can include components such as electronic components, circuits, electromechanical components, or the like. Orthopedic implants can be used to treat bone fractures, osteoarthritis, scoliosis, spinal stenosis, discomfort, and pain. Examples of orthopedic implants include, but are not limited to, a wide variety of pins, rods, screws, anchors, spacers, sutures, all-suture implants, ball all-suture implants, self-locking suture implants, cross-threaded suture implants, plates used to anchor fractured bones while the bones heal or fuse together, and the like. … more As used herein, "implant" refers to a medical device manufactured to replace a missing biological structure, support a damaged biological structure, or enhance an existing biological structure. Often medical implants are man-made devices, but implants can also be natural occurring structures. The surface of implants that contact the body may be made of, or include a biomedical material such as titanium, cobalt chrome, stainless steel, carbon fiber, another metallic alloy, silicone, polymer, Synthetic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels, biomaterials, biocompatible polymers such as PolyEther Ether Ketone (PEEK) or a polylactide polymer (e.g. PLLA) and/or others, or apatite, or any combination of these depending on what is functional and/or economical. Implants can have a variety of configurations and can be wholly, partially, and/or include a number of components that are flexible, semiflexible, pliable, elastic, supple, semi-rigid, or rigid. In some cases implants contain electronics, e.g. artificial pacemaker and cochlear implants. Some implants are bioactive, such as subcutaneous drug delivery devices in the form of implantable pills or drug-eluting stents. Orthopedic implants may be used to alleviate issues with bones and/or joints of a patient's body. Some implants can include components such as electronic components, circuits, electromechanical components, or the like. Orthopedic implants can be used to treat bone fractures, osteoarthritis, scoliosis, spinal stenosis, discomfort, and pain. Examples of orthopedic implants include, but are not limited to, a wide variety of pins, rods, screws, anchors, spacers, sutures, all-suture implants, ball all-suture implants, self-locking suture implants, cross-threaded suture implants, plates used to anchor fractured bones while the bones heal or fuse together, and the like.

As used herein, "allograft" refers to a type of tissue and/or organ graft in which the tissue or organ of the graft is from a donor of the same species but not the same genotype. The tissue may be soft tissue such as skin, ligament, tendon, fascia, fat muscle, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, lymph vessels, or nerves or hard tissue such as bone, tooth enamel, dentin, cementum, or cartilage. Bone grafts may be of an allograft type or of a mixture of other graft types including allograft, autograft, and xenograft. Autograft refers to a type of tissue and/or organ graft in which the tissue or organ of the graft is from the patient. Xenograft refers to a type of tissue and/or organ graft in which the tissue or organ of the graft is from a donor of another species. … more As used herein, "allograft" refers to a type of tissue and/or organ graft in which the tissue or organ of the graft is from a donor of the same species but not the same genotype. The tissue may be soft tissue such as skin, ligament, tendon, fascia, fat muscle, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, lymph vessels, or nerves or hard tissue such as bone, tooth enamel, dentin, cementum, or cartilage. Bone grafts may be of an allograft type or of a mixture of other graft types including allograft, autograft, and xenograft. Autograft refers to a type of tissue and/or organ graft in which the tissue or organ of the graft is from the patient. Xenograft refers to a type of tissue and/or organ graft in which the tissue or organ of the graft is from a donor of another species.

As used herein, a “electrical communication” refers to a circuit, connection, contact, lead, trace, path, or relationship between two structures that is configured, designed, coordinated, or organized to pass, convey, transfer, transmit or send an electric charge, charge carrier, or current between a source and a destination. Examples of electrical communication, include, but are not limited to, a conductor or interconnect between a source and a destination that passes an electric charge, charge carrier, or current through or on a surface of the conductor or interconnect, a conductor or interconnect in proximity to a magnetic, static, or electrical field, that causes a movement of electric charge within the conductor or interconnect, and the like. … more As used herein, a “electrical communication” refers to a circuit, connection, contact, lead, trace, path, or relationship between two structures that is configured, designed, coordinated, or organized to pass, convey, transfer, transmit or send an electric charge, charge carrier, or current between a source and a destination. Examples of electrical communication, include, but are not limited to, a conductor or interconnect between a source and a destination that passes an electric charge, charge carrier, or current through or on a surface of the conductor or interconnect, a conductor or interconnect in proximity to a magnetic, static, or electrical field, that causes a movement of electric charge within the conductor or interconnect, and the like.

As used herein, a “coating” refers to a layer or covering of a structure. The structure may be a substrate, a base layer, another layer, or any object. The coating may be solid, semi-solid, and/or amorphous either when applied or after a drying or curing period. The coating may include a single element, a set of single elements forming a molecule, one or more compounds, or a mixture. A coating may have a variety of thicknesses and the thicknesses may be uniform or non-uniform across a surface and/or substrate. The coating may have a nano-scale thickness, a micro-scale thickness, a macro-scale thickness, or a combination of these. A coating may be applied by painting, spraying, pouring, immersion within the coating, and the like. "Layer" refers to a planar set of material in a multilayer structure. … more As used herein, a “coating” refers to a layer or covering of a structure. The structure may be a substrate, a base layer, another layer, or any object. The coating may be solid, semi-solid, and/or amorphous either when applied or after a drying or curing period. The coating may include a single element, a set of single elements forming a molecule, one or more compounds, or a mixture. A coating may have a variety of thicknesses and the thicknesses may be uniform or non-uniform across a surface and/or substrate. The coating may have a nano-scale thickness, a micro-scale thickness, a macro-scale thickness, or a combination of these. A coating may be applied by painting, spraying, pouring, immersion within the coating, and the like. "Layer" refers to a planar set of material in a multilayer structure.

As used herein, "osteoconductive" refers to a type or kind of material, bone graft material, device, structure, substrate, or apparatus that provides a suitable scaffold or matrix upon which bone tissue can grow. … more As used herein, "osteoconductive" refers to a type or kind of material, bone graft material, device, structure, substrate, or apparatus that provides a suitable scaffold or matrix upon which bone tissue can grow.

As used herein, "osteoinductive" refers to a type or kind of material, bone graft material, device, structure, or apparatus that stimulates cells of a patient to grow bone tissue. … more As used herein, "osteoinductive" refers to a type or kind of material, bone graft material, device, structure, or apparatus that stimulates cells of a patient to grow bone tissue.

As used herein, "substrate" refers to a material which provides a surface on which something is deposited or inscribed, for example a silicon wafer used to manufacture integrated circuits and or semiconductors. (Search "substrate" on lexico.com © 2020 Lexico.com. Edited. Accessed April 3, 2020.) A substrate may be a rigid or flexible structure and may be planar or curved in shape. A substrate may also be used in a variety of structures including printed circuit boards (PCB), medical implants, and the like. Typically, a substrate is non-conductive or semi-conductive, but may also be conductive, and may be formed from a variety of materials including plastic, ceramics, metal, acrylic, carbon, and biodegradable materials (preferably: stainless steel, titanium, titanium composite/alloy, cobalt chrome, tantalum, silicon nitride, polyetheretherketone, poly(ε-caprolactone), polyurethane, allograft, Poly-L/D-lactic acid (PLDLA), silicon, resin, fiberglass, silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, sapphire, germanium, gallium arsenide (GaAs), an alloy of silicon and germanium, indium phosphide (InP), or the like. In certain embodiments, a substrate may comprise a surface of a medical implant. In certain embodiments, a substrate may comprise a silicon wafer and in other embodiments, a substrate may comprise another layer of an integrated semiconductor, including, but not limited to, a top surface of a cell film stack, or the like. … more As used herein, "substrate" refers to a material which provides a surface on which something is deposited or inscribed, for example a silicon wafer used to manufacture integrated circuits and or semiconductors. (Search "substrate" on lexico.com © 2020 Lexico.com. Edited. Accessed April 3, 2020.) A substrate may be a rigid or flexible structure and may be planar or curved in shape. A substrate may also be used in a variety of structures including printed circuit boards (PCB), medical implants, and the like. Typically, a substrate is non-conductive or semi-conductive, but may also be conductive, and may be formed from a variety of materials including plastic, ceramics, metal, acrylic, carbon, and biodegradable materials (preferably: stainless steel, titanium, titanium composite/alloy, cobalt chrome, tantalum, silicon nitride, polyetheretherketone, poly(ε-caprolactone), polyurethane, allograft, Poly-L/D-lactic acid (PLDLA), silicon, resin, fiberglass, silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, sapphire, germanium, gallium arsenide (GaAs), an alloy of silicon and germanium, indium phosphide (InP), or the like. In certain embodiments, a substrate may comprise a surface of a medical implant. In certain embodiments, a substrate may comprise a silicon wafer and in other embodiments, a substrate may comprise another layer of an integrated semiconductor, including, but not limited to, a top surface of a cell film stack, or the like.

As used herein, "nanomaterial" refers to a material of which a single unit has a small size (in at least one dimension) between 1 and 100 nanometers, also referred to as nanoscale. Materials with a structure at the nanoscale may have unique optical, electronic, thermo-physical or mechanical properties. Nanomaterial also includes material defined by the ISO/TS 80004 standard as "material with any external dimension in the nanoscale or having internal structure or surface structure in the nanoscale", with nanoscale defined as the "length range approximately from 1 nm to 100 nm." This includes both nano-objects, which are discrete pieces of material, and nanostructured materials, which have internal or surface structure on the nanoscale; a nanomaterial may be a member of both these categories. Nanomaterial may be specifically engineered, occur naturally, or be created as an incidental byproduct of another mechanical or industrial process. Nano-objects are often categorized based on how many of their dimensions fall in the nanoscale. A nanoparticle is defined a nano-object with all three external dimensions in the nanoscale, having a longest and the shortest axes that do not differ significantly. A nanofiber has two external dimensions in the nanoscale, with nanotubes being hollow nanofibers and nanorods being solid nanofibers. A nanoplate/nanosheet has one external dimension in the nanoscale, and if the two larger dimensions are significantly different it is referred to as a nanoribbon. For nanofibers and nanoplates, the other dimensions may or may not be in the nanoscale but are typically significantly larger. A difference in dimensions may be considered significant if the difference is at least a factor of 3. Nanostructured materials can be categorized by what phases of matter they contain. A nanocomposite is a solid containing at least one physically or chemically distinct region, or collection of regions, having at least one dimension in the nanoscale. A nanofoam has a liquid or solid matrix, filled with a gaseous phase, where one of the two phases has dimensions on the nanoscale. A nanoporous material is a solid material containing nanopores, voids in the form of open or closed pores of sub-micron length scales. A nanocrystalline material has a significant fraction of crystal grains in the nanoscale. (Search "nanomaterial" on Wikipedia.com May 29, 2021. CC-BY-SA 3.0 Modified. Accessed June 30, 2021.) … more As used herein, "nanomaterial" refers to a material of which a single unit has a small size (in at least one dimension) between 1 and 100 nanometers, also referred to as nanoscale. Materials with a structure at the nanoscale may have unique optical, electronic, thermo-physical or mechanical properties. Nanomaterial also includes material defined by the ISO/TS 80004 standard as "material with any external dimension in the nanoscale or having internal structure or surface structure in the nanoscale", with nanoscale defined as the "length range approximately from 1 nm to 100 nm." This includes both nano-objects, which are discrete pieces of material, and nanostructured materials, which have internal or surface structure on the nanoscale; a nanomaterial may be a member of both these categories. Nanomaterial may be specifically engineered, occur naturally, or be created as an incidental byproduct of another mechanical or industrial process. Nano-objects are often categorized based on how many of their dimensions fall in the nanoscale. A nanoparticle is defined a nano-object with all three external dimensions in the nanoscale, having a longest and the shortest axes that do not differ significantly. A nanofiber has two external dimensions in the nanoscale, with nanotubes being hollow nanofibers and nanorods being solid nanofibers. A nanoplate/nanosheet has one external dimension in the nanoscale, and if the two larger dimensions are significantly different it is referred to as a nanoribbon. For nanofibers and nanoplates, the other dimensions may or may not be in the nanoscale but are typically significantly larger. A difference in dimensions may be considered significant if the difference is at least a factor of 3. Nanostructured materials can be categorized by what phases of matter they contain. A nanocomposite is a solid containing at least one physically or chemically distinct region, or collection of regions, having at least one dimension in the nanoscale. A nanofoam has a liquid or solid matrix, filled with a gaseous phase, where one of the two phases has dimensions on the nanoscale. A nanoporous material is a solid material containing nanopores, voids in the form of open or closed pores of sub-micron length scales. A nanocrystalline material has a significant fraction of crystal grains in the nanoscale. (Search "nanomaterial" on Wikipedia.com May 29, 2021. CC-BY-SA 3.0 Modified. Accessed June 30, 2021.)

As used herein, "interconnect" refers to a conductive structure configured to convey an electric signal or charge between a source and a destination. An interconnect may be made of a variety of conductive or semiconductive materials including, but not limited to, metal, nanotubes, nanoyarns, nanofibers, and the like . One material that can be used for an interconnect is elemental carbon (also referred to as graphene). An interconnect may also be referred to interchangeably herein as a conductor. … more As used herein, "interconnect" refers to a conductive structure configured to convey an electric signal or charge between a source and a destination. An interconnect may be made of a variety of conductive or semiconductive materials including, but not limited to, metal, nanotubes, nanoyarns, nanofibers, and the like . One material that can be used for an interconnect is elemental carbon (also referred to as graphene). An interconnect may also be referred to interchangeably herein as a conductor.

As used herein, an “void” refers to a gap, a hole, an aperture, a space or recess in a structure, an opening in a structure, or the like. In certain embodiments, a void can refer to a structure configured specifically for receiving something and/or for allowing access. In certain embodiments, a void can pass through a structure. In other embodiments, a void can exist within a structure but not pass through the structure. … more As used herein, an “void” refers to a gap, a hole, an aperture, a space or recess in a structure, an opening in a structure, or the like. In certain embodiments, a void can refer to a structure configured specifically for receiving something and/or for allowing access. In certain embodiments, a void can pass through a structure. In other embodiments, a void can exist within a structure but not pass through the structure.

As used herein, "mesenchyme" or "mesenchyme cell" refers to a type of loosely organized embryonic connective tissue of undifferentiated cells that can change to form blood and lymph vessels, bone, and muscle. (Search "mesenchyme" on Wikipedia.com June 21, 2021. CC-BY-SA 3.0 Modified. Accessed June 24, 2021.) … more As used herein, "mesenchyme" or "mesenchyme cell" refers to a type of loosely organized embryonic connective tissue of undifferentiated cells that can change to form blood and lymph vessels, bone, and muscle. (Search "mesenchyme" on Wikipedia.com June 21, 2021. CC-BY-SA 3.0 Modified. Accessed June 24, 2021.)

As used herein, "cell migration" refers to a process in the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms. Tissue formation during embryonic development, wound healing and immune responses may require the orchestrated movement of cells in particular directions to specific locations. Cells often migrate in response to specific external signals, including chemical signals and mechanical signals. (Search "cellular differentiation" on Wikipedia.com June 10, 2021. CC-BY-SA 3.0 Modified. Accessed June 24, 2021.) … more As used herein, "cell migration" refers to a process in the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms. Tissue formation during embryonic development, wound healing and immune responses may require the orchestrated movement of cells in particular directions to specific locations. Cells often migrate in response to specific external signals, including chemical signals and mechanical signals. (Search "cellular differentiation" on Wikipedia.com June 10, 2021. CC-BY-SA 3.0 Modified. Accessed June 24, 2021.)

As used herein, "cellular differentiation" or "cell differentiation" refers to a process in which a cell changes from one cell type to another. Often, the cell changes to a more specialized type. Differentiation occurs numerous times during the development of a multicellular organism as it changes from a simple zygote to a complex system of tissues and cell types. (Search "cellular differentiation" on Wikipedia.com May 22, 2021. CC-BY-SA 3.0 Modified. Accessed June 24, 2021.) … more As used herein, "cellular differentiation" or "cell differentiation" refers to a process in which a cell changes from one cell type to another. Often, the cell changes to a more specialized type. Differentiation occurs numerous times during the development of a multicellular organism as it changes from a simple zygote to a complex system of tissues and cell types. (Search "cellular differentiation" on Wikipedia.com May 22, 2021. CC-BY-SA 3.0 Modified. Accessed June 24, 2021.)

As used herein, "osteolysis" refers to a process in which bone tissues deteriorate. … more As used herein, "osteolysis" refers to a process in which bone tissues deteriorate.

As used herein, "osteogenic" refers to a type or kind of bone graft material that grows bone tissue. Osteoblasts are one example of osteogenic bone graft material. … more As used herein, "osteogenic" refers to a type or kind of bone graft material that grows bone tissue. Osteoblasts are one example of osteogenic bone graft material.