Medical device coating by laser cladding
Methods for making medical devices having porous coatings. Methods may comprise providing a tubing section having inner and outer surfaces and positioning a nozzle proximate to a target surface of the parent tubing section. A powder form of the porous coating may be delivered toward the tubing section, and a laser may be directed at the powder to melt the powder to form a melt pool. The melt pool can solidify to form the porous coating on the target surface. Portions of the parent tubing section may then be cut away to form the support structure of the medical device, such as a stent.
1. A method of making a medical device with a porous coating, the method comprising:
providing a workpiece sized to fit within lumens of the body, the workpiece having an accessible surface;
positioning a nozzle adjacent the accessible surface;
ejecting a coating material from the nozzle toward the accessible surface;
directing a laser beam toward the coating material ejected from the nozzle, thereby melting the coating material ejected from the nozzle with the laser;
allowing the melted coating material to cool and form a porous coating on the workpiece; and
loading the porous coating with a therapeutic agent.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the coating material is a powder.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the coating material is a paste.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising directing a shield gas toward the workpiece.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the workpiece is a tube and wherein after the porous coating is formed, the tube is cut to form a stent.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the workpiece is a stent.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
ejecting a second coating material from the nozzle;
melting the second coating material with the laser; and
allowing the melted second coating material to cool and form a second porous coating on the workpiece, wherein the porosity of the second porous coating is different than the porosity of the first porous coating.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising polishing the medical device.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein a portion of the workpiece is melted when the coating material is melted by the laser.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the laser is pulsed on and off.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the laser is a CO 2 laser.
12. The method of claim 1 further comprising applying a non-porous radiopaque layer to the porous coating.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein the coating material is metallic.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein the coating material is ceramic.
15. The method of claim 1 wherein the coating material is bio-ceramic.
16. The method of claim 1 wherein the coating material comprises calcium phosphate.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the laser is directed through the nozzle towards the coating material ejected from the nozzle.
18. A method for making an implantable medical device having a porous coating, the method comprising:
providing a tube having inner and outer surfaces;
applying a powder ejected from a nozzle onto an outer surface of the tube;
directing a laser beam toward the powder to melt the powder ejected from the nozzle such that melted powder is formed along the outer surface of the tube;
allowing the melted powder to cool and solidify to form a porous coating on the outer surface of the tube; and
cutting away portions of the tube to form an implantable medical device.
19. The method of claim 18 further comprising loading the porous coating with a therapeutic agent.
20. The method of claim 18 further comprising directing a shield gas toward the outer surface of the tube.
21. The method of claim 20 wherein the portions of the tube are cut away to form the implantable medical device prior to applying the powder to the outer surface of the tube.
22. The method of claim 1 , further comprising ejecting a second coating material from the nozzle, the second coating material not being melted by the laser and being encapsulated with the porous coating formed by the melted coating material.
23. The method of claim 22 , wherein the second coating material and the coating material are ejected from different nozzle openings.
24. The method of claim 18 , wherein the laser is directed through the nozzle towards the powder ejected from the nozzle.