Vasculara device for emboli, thrombus and foreign body removal and methods of use

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are provided for use in filtering emboli from a vessel and / or performing thrombectomy and embolectomy, wherein a vascular device comprises one or more support hoops connected near a distal end of a guide wire, each support hoop having an articulation region, and a blood permeable sac affixed to the support hoop or hoops to form a mouth of the blood permeable sac. The mouth of the sac closes when the apparatus is collapsed for removal to prevent material from escaping from the sac.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 302,433 filed Nov. 22, 2002, which claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 636,040 filed on Aug. 9, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 364,064 filed Jul. 30, 1999, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 430,211 filed Oct. 29, 1999, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 470,681 filed Dec. 23, 1999, U.S. patent Ser. No. 09 / 470,682 filed Dec. 23, 1999, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 470,703 filed Dec. 23, 1999, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 470,857 filed Dec. 23, 1999, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 611,428 filed Jul. 7, 2000, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for filtering or removing matter from within a vascular system. More particularly, the present invention provides a low profile self-expanding vascular device useful for capturing emboli o...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0019]It is an object of the present invention to provide a reliable and multi-functional delivery system for use with the vascular device.

[0032]A delivery system in accordance with the present invention, configured for use with the vascular devices described herein, is also provided. The delivery system integrates the functions of a Touhy Borst, a torquer, and a pusher into a single device, thereby facilitating introduction and retrieval of embodiments of the present invention. The torqueing function allows a vascular device to navigate tortuous anatomy. For example, the distal end of a guide wire may be rotated to selectively orient the vascular device in a selected branch of a bifurcated vessel. The Touhy-Borst adapter permits liquid to be introduced or withdrawn through the lumen of the vascular device delivery catheter. The pusher feature of the delivery system allows deployment and retraction of the vascular device from within the delivery catheter.

Problems solved by technology

This dislodged material, known as emboli, enters the bloodstream, and may be large enough to occlude smaller downstream vessels, potentially blocking blood flow to tissue.

The resulting ischemia poses a serious threat to the health or life of a patient if the blockage occurs in critical tissue, such as the heart, lungs, or brain.

The deployment of stents and stent-grafts to treat vascular disease, such as aneurysms, also involves the introduction of foreign objects into the bloodstream, and also may result in the formation of clots or release of emboli.

Such particulate matter, if released into the bloodstream, also may cause infarction or stroke.

Furthermore, interventional procedures may generate foreign bodies that are left within a patient's bloodstream, thereby endangering the life of the patient.

A drawback of such previously known systems, however, is that occlusion of antegrade flow through the vessel may result in damage to the tissue normally fed by the blocked vessel.

One disadvantage of radially expandable filter systems such as described in the foregoing patents is the relative complexity of the devices, which typically comprise numerous parts.

Connecting more than a minimal number of such parts to a guide wire generally increases delivery complications.

Consequently, it may be difficult or impossible to use such devices in small diameter vessels, such as are commonly found in the carotid artery and cerebral vasculature.

Moreover, such filter devices are generally incapable of preventing material from escaping from the filter during the process of collapsing the filter for removal.

While the filter system described in the foregoing International Publication reduces the number of components used to deploy the cone-shaped basket, as compared to the radial strut-type filter elements described hereinabove, it too has drawbacks.

Chief among these, it is expected that it will be difficult to reduce the diameter of the radially expandable hoop to its retracted position.

This increased stiffness prevents the hoop from being contracted more tightly, and is expected to result in a delivery profile too large to permit use of the device in critical regions of the body, such as the smaller coronary arteries, carotid arteries, and cerebral vasculature.

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