| abstract |
Methods and apparatus for coating at least a portion of the surface of medical devices (40, 131) using an injection coating device (20) are disclosed. In one embodiment, the invention includes a coating method wherein an orifice (23) of the injection coating device (20) is placed adjacent a vertically positioned medical device (40), coating material is ejected from the orifice (23) onto the medical device (40), and the coating material gravitationally flows downward coating the medical device (40). In another embodiment, an orifice (23) of an injection coating device is positioned adjacent a horizontally positioned medical device (40) to gravitationally flow and deposit coating material onto the medical device (40). These methods may be used to apply one or more coating materials, simultaneously or in sequence. In another embodiment, multiple injection coating devices (134) may be utilized. In certain embodiments of the invention, the coating materials include therapeutic or biologically active agents. |