•Evaluation of a Freeze-Dried DBM Formulation as an Autograft Extender in a Posterolateral Lumbar Fusion Model

INTRODUCTION: Iliac crest autograft is considered the gold standard graft material despite limitations in the quantity available and potential complications associated with harvesting procedure. These disadvantages have motivated clinicians and investigators to seek alternative graft materials to extend, enhance and/or substitute for autograft. Examples of such alternatives include: allografts, demineralized bone matrix (DBM), synthetic materials and recombinant human bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). In this study, a freeze-dried DBM formulation was created from DBM mixed with a gelatin carrier derived from the same donor. This formulation can be rehydrated with various biologic solutions at the point-of-care to allow the surgeon flexibility in determining the carrier for the DBM. The purpose of this study is to evaluate this DBM formulation for osteoinductivity (Study I) and determine if it is a suitable bone graft extender for posterolateral spine fusion (Study II).