Patent ID: 7879067

Claim:
An embolism protection device comprising a. at least about 50 biocompatible surface capillary polymer fibers, wherein the surface capillary fibers comprises surface capillaries that run substantially along the length of the fibers; b. a wire; c. a hypotube having a distal end and a proximal end; and d. a distal coil, wherein the fibers are distally bound and proximally bound with relative movement of the wire and the hypotube changing the distance between the distally bound end and the proximally bound end of the fibers, wherein the wire extends through a lumen of the hypotube, wherein the distal coil covers the wire at its distal end, wherein the fibers have a first configuration in which the fibers are confined within a narrow profile configuration and a second configuration in which ends of the fibers are constrained while the remaining portion of the fibers are unconstrained with respect to the narrow profile, wherein all the fibers are substantially aligned in the first configuration and the second configuration has the unconstrained portion of the fibers projecting outward to form a porous filtration matrix that conforms to a geometry of a surrounding vessel wherein the fibers in the second configuration define a plurality of pores that are sized to trap emboli within the matrix with sizes from about 50 microns to about 200 microns, and wherein relative movement of the wire and the hypotube transitions the fibers from the narrow profile configuration to the second configuration.