Patent ID: 7931666

Claim:
A system for capturing embolic material in a body vessel, comprising: a guide wire; a filter device on the guide wire, the filter device having an interior and an exterior and being movable between a compressed delivery position and a deployed position and having a proximal end and a distal end; a compressing element located in the interior of the filter device for compressing and maintaining the filter device in the compressed delivery position, the compressing element being mechanically engaged and removably connected to a structure located between the proximal end and the distal end of the filter device to maintain the filter device in the compressed delivery position, the compressing element being adapted to disengage from its mechanical engagement with the structure on the filter device to move the filter device into the deployed position; and a delivery enabling element coupled to the filter device and adapted to disengage the compressing element from its mechanical engagement with the structure on the filter device to move the filter device into the deployed position.