Patent ID: 7803169

Claim:
A method for distally traversing an occlusion in a vessel having vessel walls, the method comprising: providing an occlusion auger including a shaft; providing an auger tool including a flexible and resilient beam having a proximal end and a distal free end, the distal free end of the beam forming a face, the proximal end of the beam being fixed to the shaft such that the beam forms a cantilevered bow having a bow back configured as a flat spring, and the bow back having a distal taper that provides a lower spring rate at the distal free end of the beam than at the proximal end of the beam; configuring the auger tool for atraumatic repeatable operation in a sequence including both deflection of the auger tool to an arcuate state in which it extends radially outward, and release of the auger tool from the arcuate state to an expanded and straight state, and vice versa, the auger tool having an extrados when arcuate, and a tool tip; disposing the auger tool so as to be adjacent to the occlusion; and then moving the auger tool into the arcuate state with the tool tip and the extrados being embedded and releasably retained in, respectively, a tip depression and an arc depression disposed opposite to each other in a spaced-apart relationship in the vessel such that the vessel is dilated asymmetrically in a radial outward direction for opening a furrow in the occlusion.