Patent ID: 8372034

Claim:
A method of using a balloon catheter comprising the steps of: advancing a guidewire within a blood vessel to a vascular occlusion; providing a balloon catheter comprising: a hollow outer shaft; a hollow inner shaft within the hollow outer shaft and coaxially slideable with the hollow outer shaft; a balloon coupled at a distal end of the balloon to the hollow inner shaft by a distal annular connection and coupled at a proximal end of the balloon to the hollow outer shaft by a proximal annular connection, wherein the balloon further comprises: a conically tapering midsection; a distal tapering portion tapering from a distal end of the midsection to a proximal end of a distal annular connection; a proximal tapering portion tapering from a proximal end of the midsection to a distal end of a proximal annular connection; wherein proximal tapering portion has a wall thickness greater than the wall thickness of the distal tapering portion; advancing the balloon catheter over the guidewire so that the distal end of the balloon catheter is in proximity to the vascular occlusion; inflating the balloon to a first inflation pressure, wherein the first inflation pressure causes the balloon to be anchored within the blood vessel; and oscillating the pressure in the balloon, wherein the oscillation of the pressure causes a longitudinal distal-proximal oscillation of the inner shaft.