Patent ID: 9204982
Filing Date: 2015-12-08
Classification: A61F,A61L,B05B

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for filling a fluid drug formulation within a lumenal space of a hollow wire having a plurality of side openings along a length thereof that forms a stent, the apparatus comprising: a first chamber including a reservoir filled with a solvent, wherein a pressure source is connected to an interior of the first chamber for purging residual solvent vapor from the first chamber; a means for stent suspension housed within the first chamber and operable to suspend at least one stent; a second chamber having a fluid drug formulation therein, wherein the fluid drug formulation is composed of the same solvent that fills the reservoir in the first chamber; a means for wicking housed within the second chamber and in contact with the fluid drug formulation, wherein the means for wicking is operable to assist in the movement of the fluid drug formulation from the second chamber into the lumenal space of the at least one stent by capillary action; and a valve positioned between the first and second chambers, wherein the valve is operable to alternate between an open configuration in which the first chamber and second chamber are in fluid communication and a closed configuration in which the first chamber and second chamber are not in fluid communication and wherein the means for stent suspension is operable to move the at least one stent between the chambers when the valve is in the open configuration, and into and out of contact with the fluid drug formulation via the means for wicking.