Patent ID: 8001926

Claim:
A system for loading beneficial agent onto a prosthesis for delivery within a lumen, the system comprising: a holder for supporting a prosthesis to be deployed within a lumen; a fluid-dispenser having a dispensing element capable of dispensing beneficial agent in discrete droplets, each droplet having a controlled trajectory, the dispensing element and the holder being movable relative to each other, said dispensing element being positioned at a distance sufficient such that the dispensing element and prosthesis on the holder are separated by a distance that avoids simultaneous contact of the dispensing element and prosthesis by a discrete droplet; a driver for creating relative movement between the dispensing element and the holder; a controller in communication with the driver to define a dispensing path for dispensing discrete droplets of beneficial agent with the controlled trajectory in a raster format, the controller also in communication with the dispensing element to selectively dispense beneficial agent from the dispensing element to a portion of the prosthesis supported by the holder along the dispensing path; and an optical detector configured to detect when the dispensing element is aligned with the portion of the prosthesis supported by the holder.