Patent ID: 8298252
Filing Date: 2012-10-30
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A system for removing obstructive material from a body lumen, comprising: an outer tubular member comprising a proximal end, a distal end sized for introduction into a body lumen, and a lumen extending between the proximal and distal ends; an obstruction device deployable from the tubular member to a location beyond obstructive material intended to be removed, the obstruction device comprising an expandable member on a distal end thereof; a macerator device comprising an expandable cage carried on a distal end of a shaft and a constraint tube for maintaining the cage in a collapsed configuration to allow the macerator device to be introduced into the body lumen through the tubular member lumen, the cage being deployable from a distal end of the constraint tube and expandable to an expanded configuration within a body lumen, the cage comprising an open end communicating with an interior of the cage in the expanded configuration for capturing obstructive material within the interior of the cage and a closed end, the cage comprising a plurality of struts extending between the open and closed ends and around a periphery of the cage to define a tubular wall including a plurality of apertures, wherein the obstruction device is movable relative to the macerator device such that the expanded expandable member directs obstructive material disposed between the expandable member and the cage into the open end of the cage to capture the material within the interior of the cage; wherein the plurality of struts comprises a first set of struts extending generally axially between the open and closed ends of the cage and a second set of struts extending discontinuously and helically between adjacent struts of the first set of struts to define a mesh walled structure; and, wherein the first set of struts has a greater rigidity than the second set of struts such that, rotation of the cage in a first direction about its longitudinal axis causes the cage to expand in diameter.