Patent ID: 7223253

Claim:
Apparatus suitable for providing variable rates of aspiration to a working lumen of a catheter, the apparatus comprising: a manifold having an inlet port, an outlet port, a slide valve slidingly disposed therebetween, the slide valve having an open position and a closed position, and a first check valve disposed within the manifold and in fluid communication with the inlet port, wherein the inlet port is in fluid communication with the working lumen of the catheter; a pump coupled to the manifold, the pump having a housing defining a pump lumen and a plunger disposed within the lumen, the pump coupled to the manifold so that the plunger contacts and retains the slide valve in the open position when the plunger is fully depressed in the pump lumen; a spring in operative association with the slide valve to bias the slide valve to a closed position: wherein proximally retracting the plunger moves the slide valve to the closed position and causes fluid to enter the pump lumen, whereby proximally retracting the plunger varies the rate of aspiration in the working lumen of the catheter, and wherein distally advancing the plunger causes fluid in the pump lumen to exit through the outlet port.