Patent ID: 8323243

Claim:
An intravascular device for perforation and serration of atherosclerotic plaque within a vessel comprising: a carrier being reversibly expandable and collapsible within the vessel, said carrier comprises a metal sheet formed in a tubular shape and having ribbon strips extending between opposite ends of the sheet in a longitudinal direction of the carrier, said ribbon strips each being formed with a plurality of elongated protrusions thereon, each of the protrusions attached to the ribbon strip at a base, a height of the protrusion defined by a distance extending from the base to a top edge, the top edge being elongate and extending essentially in a line that defines the top most portion of the protrusion, each ribbon strips separated from adjacent ribbon strips by a single slit on either side which is oriented in the longitudinal direction and extends up to but not including one or both opposite ends of the tubular shape of metal sheet, said ribbon strips being unconnected between said opposite ends of the tubular shape of metal sheet thereby being left free to expand into and form longitudinal cleavage lines or planes in the plaque; and an expansion apparatus for actuating the ribbon strips each with the plurality elongated protrusions to pierce a luminal surface of the plaque with lines or patterns of microperforations which act as serrations for forming cleavage lines or planes in the plaque.