The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 21, 2011
Filed:
Dec. 07, 2004
Shrirang V. Ranade, Arlington, MA (US);
Robert E. Richard, Wrentham, MA (US);
Kinh-luan (Lenny) D. Dao, Randolph, MA (US);
Samuel P. Gido, Hadley, MA (US);
Akinbode Idowu Isaacs-sodeye, South Hadley, MA (US);
Shrirang V. Ranade, Arlington, MA (US);
Robert E. Richard, Wrentham, MA (US);
Kinh-Luan (Lenny) D. Dao, Randolph, MA (US);
Samuel P. Gido, Hadley, MA (US);
Akinbode Idowu Isaacs-Sodeye, South Hadley, MA (US);
Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc., Maple Grove, MN (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides a method for the formation of a medical device that comprises a therapeutic agent and a release region, which regulates the rate at which the therapeutic agent is released from the medical device. The method comprises providing a precursor region that comprises a polymer composition comprising two or more microphase separated polymer domains that are immiscible with one another, and forming said release region by a process that comprises applying an orienting field comprising an electric field, a magnetic field, a mechanical shear field, or a solvent gradient field, or a combination of two or more fields to said precursor region, wherein said field or combination of fields changes the spatial orientation of the microphase separated polymer domains within the release region. The electric, magnetic, mechanical shear or solvent gradient field is of sufficient strength to change the spatial orientation of the microphase separated domains. Moreover, the spatial orientation of the immiscible microphase separated polymer domains affects the rate of release of the therapeutic agent from the medical device. Hence, the present invention is further directed to methods of modulating the rate of release of a therapeutic agent from a medical device. Other aspects of the invention are directed to medical devices formed from the above techniques.