Method for roll coating multiple stents

Abstract

An improved method and apparatus for high-volume production of coated stents with highly uniform stent coatings using a roll coating technique is provided. In a first embodiment, uncoated stents are placed onto rotating stent holders with automated stent handling equipment. The holders are mounted on an endless conveyer belt which advances the stents toward a stent coater. As the stents advance through the coater, the holders rotate, thereby rolling the stents about their longitudinal axes as coating material is sprayed toward them, ensuring the stents are uniformly coated on their exterior and interior surfaces. After the conveyer turns to carry the coated stents back toward the loading area, the rotating stents pass again through the coating spray, downstream of the initial coating location, thereby increasing the efficient utilization of the coating material. The conveyer then advances the coated stents to an unloading area for removal before the holders return to the stent loading area to receive new stents.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention generally regards the holding of stents during manufacture to enable the application of therapeutic and / or protective coatings. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a method for high-throughput, efficient and uniform coating of stents, wherein the stents placed on rotating fixtures on a conveyer, and the conveyer passes the rotating stents through a coating spray or immersion bath to apply a coating to the stents. BACKGROUND [0002] Medical implants are used for innumerable medical purposes, including the reinforcement of recently re-enlarged lumens, the replacement of ruptured vessels, and the treatment of disease such as vascular disease by local pharmacotherapy, i.e., delivering therapeutic drug doses to target tissues while minimizing systemic side effects. Such localized delivery of therapeutic agents has been proposed or achieved using medical implants which both support a lumen within a patient's body and plac...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a method for efficiently producing stents with a uniform coating on their exterior and interior surfaces. The stents are loaded onto rotating pins and then coated with a coating material as they roll through a coating sprayer. The stents can also be pre-mounted on stent holders or placed in a coating bath to improve coating material utilization. The result is a high volume, efficient and lower-cost production of stents.

Problems solved by technology

When the amount of coating is depleted the implant's effectiveness may be compromised and additional risks may be inured into the procedure.

For example, when the coating of the implant includes a therapeutic, if some of the coating were removed during deployment, the therapeutic may no longer be able to be administered to the target site in a uniform and homogenous manner.

Similarly, if the therapeutic is ripped from the implant it can reduce or slow down the blood flowing past it, thereby, increasing the threat of thrombosis or, if it becomes dislodged, the risk of embolisms.

This individual handling typically has resulted in low production rates of coated stents.

A further disadvantage of these prior stent coating processes is that, because the stents are wire mesh structures with substantial void area between the mesh wires, the utilization of the stent coating material sprayed toward the stents is very low.

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