Comparing cellular bone matrices for posterolateral spinal fusion in a rat model.

Introduction: Cellular bone matrices (CBM) are allograft products that provide three components essential to new bone formation: an osteoconductive scaffold, extracellular growth factors for cell proliferation and differentiation, and viable cells with osteogenic potential. This is an emerging technology being applied to augment spinal fusion procedures as an alternative to autografts.

Methods: We aim to compare the ability of six commercially-available human CBMs (Trinity ELITE®, ViviGen®, Cellentra®, Osteocel® Pro, Bio4® and Map3®) to form a stable spinal fusion using an athymic rat model of posterolateral fusion.

A Comparative Evaluation of Commercially Available Cell-Based Allografts in a Rat Spinal Fusion Model.

Background: To evaluate the comparative abilities of commercially available, viable, cellular bone allografts to promote posterolateral spinal fusion.

Methods: Human allografts containing live cells were implanted in the athymic rat model of posterolateral spine fusion. Three commercially available allogeneic cellular bone matrices (Trinity Evolution, Trinity ELITE and Osteocel Plus) were compared with syngeneic iliac crest bone as the control.