| abstract |
A system and method for application of therapeutic and protective coatings to multiple tubular medical devices in a high volume production process. One or more tubular medical devices, such as stents, are placed on a coating-absorbent core, and coating is applied to the device(s), for example, as when the device-carrying core is passed through an extrusion coating machine to apply the coating in a uniform manner. Once coated, the medical device(s) may be quickly and efficiently removed from the core by causing the core diameter to decrease, such as by applying elongating tension to the core to cause the core diameter to radially contract, thereby allowing the coated device(s) to be simultaneously freed from the core. Improved coating uniformity, increased coated device removal ease and minimized bridging of openings in the tubular medical device may be obtained with a core that absorbs excess coating. |