Patent ID: 7824370

Claim:
A method for retrieving an object from a body site comprising: (a) delivering a catheter to the body site, said catheter comprising: (aa) a shaft, (ab) an expandable element, the expandable element having an expanded state and having in the expanded state an annular shape surrounding a passageway, wherein the catheter and expandable element are configured so that the expandable element in the expanded state is rollable along at least a portion of the shaft without slipping when a portion of the shaft is positioned in the passageway, and wherein the expandable element is attached to the catheter shaft such that said shaft at all times extends beyond the distal margins of said expandable element; (b) bringing the expanded element into the expanded state; (c) rolling the expandable element in the expanded state along said shaft so as to roll over the object to trap said object in an annular space defined between the wall of said expandable element and said shaft of said catheter; and (d) removing the catheter from the body.