Patent ID: 7887556

Claim:
A method of removing material from a blood flow lumen, the method comprising: providing a device having a distal housing having a wall defining a lumen sized to contain a cutting element, the wall of the distal housing having a side opening and having a diameter D adjacent to the opening, the cutting element being axially moveable within the lumen of the distal housing between a first position and a second position axially spaced from the first position, the cutting element having a portion extending through the opening and beyond the diameter D when in the first position, the cutting element being contained within the lumen of the distal housing when in the second position; advancing the device through the blood flow lumen with the cutting element in the second position to a site where material is to be removed; forcing the opening toward a wall of the site where material is to be removed; and moving the cutting element and the opening in a distal direction with the cutting element in the first position so that material in the blood flow lumen is cut by the cutting element and directed into the opening as the cutting element and opening are moved through the blood flow lumen, the cutting element extending through the opening and beyond the diameter D when cutting the material in the blood flow lumen.