US Patent 7770536 Coating abluminal surfaces of stents and other implantable medical devices

A sleeve is positioned over a radially-expandable rod assembly and a stent is positioned over the sleeve. A mandrel is inserted into the rod assembly to thereby press the sleeve against the inner surface of the stent and expand the stent. A coating (such as a solvent, a polymer and/or a therapeutic substance) is then applied to the outer (abluminal) surfaces of the stent, by spraying, for example. The sleeve advantageously prevents the coating material from being applied to inner (luminal) surfaces of the stent and also allows the coating material to be efficiently applied to the abluminal surfaces.