Patent ID: 7837702

Claim:
An interventional catheter for use in a vessel, comprising: an elongated shaft having an exterior surface, a proximal end, a distal end, a distal region having a diagnostic or therapeutic end effector, a reduced diameter region, and a guide wire lumen extending through the distal region; a filter coupled to the exterior surface of the elongated shaft adjacent to the end effector, the filter comprising a plurality of self-expanding struts supporting a filter mesh, each one of the plurality of struts having a length longer than the reduced diameter region, an outer surface, a proximal end and a distal end, the struts configured to transition between a contracted position, wherein the outer surfaces of the struts are flush with the exterior surface of the elongated shaft and the distal ends engage the exterior surface of the elongated shaft, and an expanded position, wherein the distal ends of the struts contact an interior surface of the vessel and define a distal opening of the filter, the filter sealing the reduced diameter region when the struts are in the contracted position to define a reservoir and to retain emboli captured by the filter.