Patent ID: 7563400

Claim:
A method of mounting a drug delivery stent on a balloon catheter, comprising: a) positioning a drug delivery stent on a balloon of a balloon catheter, the stent having a drug delivery layer and an outer diameter; b) positioning the balloon with the drug delivery stent thereon within a polished bore of a mold, the mold having a metallic wall with a polished inner surface defining the mold bore, the bore having an inner diameter wherein such inner diameter corresponds to the outer diameter of the stent; and c) pressurizing and heating the balloon within the mold, to mount the stent on the balloon without damaging the drug delivery layer of the stent, wherein the balloon is heated by heating the mold by contacting a surface of the mold with a conductive heating element member which heats the mold purely by conduction and which provides temperature control to the mold with a tolerance of about ±1 degree to about ±2 degrees F.