Localized delivery of drug agents
AssigneeBoston Scientific Scimed, Inc.
InventorCharles D. Lennox
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Medical devices including a substrate that are expandable from a compressed state to an expanded state; a coating on the substrate, the coating having a drug agent incorporated therein; and a sheath over the coating. The sheath is expandable from a compressed state to an expanded state and has at least one perforation therein. The medical devices are configured such that when the substrate is in a compressed state, the sheath is also in a compressed state and the perforation is substantially closed. When the substrate is in an expanded state, the sheath is also in an expanded state and the perforation is substantially open. The invention also includes a method of using the medical devices for the controlled, localized delivery of a drug agent to a target location within a mammalian body.
Claims20
A method of loading a medical device with a drug agent, comprising:
- expanding an elastic sheath of the medical device from an unexpanded state to an expanded state, wherein the elastic sheath has a plurality of holes therein, wherein the holes are substantially closed when the elastic sheath is in the unexpanded state, and wherein the holes are substantially open when the elastic sheath is in the expanded state;
- and
- loading a drug agent into the substantially open holes of the elastic sheath when the elastic sheath is in the expanded state.
A method of loading a medical device with a drug agent, comprising:
- expanding an elastic sheath of the medical device from an unexpanded state to an expanded state, wherein the elastic sheath has a plurality of slits therein, wherein the slits are substantially closed when the elastic sheath is in the unexpanded state, and wherein the slits are substantially open when the elastic sheath is in the expanded state;
- and
- loading a drug agent into the substantially open slits of the elastic sheath when the elastic sheath is in the expanded state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.