Patent ID: 7654978

Claim:
An evacuation sheath assembly, comprising: a multi-lumen tube having a proximal end, a distal end, a proximal opening, a distal opening, a central longitudinal axis, first and second lumens, and first and second sealing surfaces, the first lumen defined by a first wall of the multi-lumen tube, wherein the first wall is an integral part of the multi-lumen tube, wherein the first lumen is an evacuation lumen configured to be placed in fluid communication with a bloodstream and is sized to accept a therapeutic catheter, wherein the second lumen is an inflation lumen in fluid communication with at least one of the first and second sealing surfaces, wherein the first and second sealing surfaces are mounted on the multi-lumen tube and, upon inflation, define an arc that extends 360° around an outer surface of the multi-lumen tube, wherein at least one of the first and second sealing surfaces is adapted to form a fluid tight seal between the sealing surface and a blood vessel, wherein the evacuation lumen extends along an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the multi-lumen tube, and wherein the proximal end has a generally circular edge that defines a first plane, the distal end has a generally circular edge that defines a second plane, the proximal and distal openings are arranged so that the first and second planes intersect the central longitudinal axis of the multi-lumen tube and at least one of the first and second planes forms an acute angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the multi-lumen tube; and a shaft in fluid communication with the inflation lumen of the multi-lumen tube and configured to connect to an inflation source, the shaft having a proximal end, a proximal region, a distal end, and a distal region, the multi-lumen tube being positioned on not more than the distal region of the shaft, wherein the multi-lumen tube has a first diameter and the shaft has a second diameter different from the first diameter.