Embolic protection device
First Claim
1. A method for providing embolic protection, comprising:
- advancing a guidewire through a vascular system of a patient to a treatment site, the guidewire comprising a distal stop;
advancing a filter element over the guidewire to the treatment site, the filter element being movable between a collapsed stored position for movement through the vascular system and an expanded position for occluding a blood vessel such that blood passing through the blood vessel is delivered through the filter element but embolic material is retained in the filter element; and
deploying the filter element into the expanded position to make tubular engagement with a wall of the blood vessel, whereinthe filter element comprises a filter membrane and a filter frame to support the filter membrane in the expanded position,the filter membrane comprises a proximal inlet end having a frusto-conical shape tapering proximally and one or more inlet openings, a distal outlet end having a frusto-conical shape tapering distally and a plurality of outlet openings, and an intermediate section defining a cylinder that extends from a distal end of the inlet end to the proximal end of the outlet end, the cylinder-shaped intermediate section making the tubular engagement with the vessel wall in the expanded position, andthe guidewire is free to move axially independent of the filter, but proximal retraction of the guidewire causes the distal stop to abut a distal end of the filter element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An embolic protection device has a collapsible filter element (105) mounted on a carrier such as a guidewire (101). The filter element (105) collapses into the outer end of a catheter (118) for deployment and retrieval through a vascular system on a patient. The filter element (105) has a collapsible filter body with a proximal inlet end and a distal outlet end. The proximal inlet end has inlet openings sized to allow blood and embolic material enter the filter body. The outlet end has outlet openings which allow through passage of blood but retain embolic material within the filter body. After use, the catheter (118) is movable along the guidewire (101) to engage the proximal end of the filter element and close the inlet openings before sliding over the filter element from the proximal end to the distal end to progressively collapse the filter body on the guidewire (101) for retrieval. The filter element (105) may conveniently be mounted on a tubular sleeve (104) which is slidable and rotatable on the guidewire (101) between spaced-apart stops (106, 120) on the guidewire (101) which allow some manipulation of the guidewire independently of the filter when the filter is in use.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method for providing embolic protection, comprising:
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advancing a guidewire through a vascular system of a patient to a treatment site, the guidewire comprising a distal stop; advancing a filter element over the guidewire to the treatment site, the filter element being movable between a collapsed stored position for movement through the vascular system and an expanded position for occluding a blood vessel such that blood passing through the blood vessel is delivered through the filter element but embolic material is retained in the filter element; and deploying the filter element into the expanded position to make tubular engagement with a wall of the blood vessel, wherein the filter element comprises a filter membrane and a filter frame to support the filter membrane in the expanded position, the filter membrane comprises a proximal inlet end having a frusto-conical shape tapering proximally and one or more inlet openings, a distal outlet end having a frusto-conical shape tapering distally and a plurality of outlet openings, and an intermediate section defining a cylinder that extends from a distal end of the inlet end to the proximal end of the outlet end, the cylinder-shaped intermediate section making the tubular engagement with the vessel wall in the expanded position, and the guidewire is free to move axially independent of the filter, but proximal retraction of the guidewire causes the distal stop to abut a distal end of the filter element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification