Patent ID: 7029488

Claim:
Apparatus suitable for treating a cerebral occlusion, the apparatus comprising: a catheter body having proximal and distal ends and a handle affixed to the proximal end; an engagement section affixed to the distal end of the catheter body and consisting of a plurality of deployable elements, each deployable element having a contracted state suitable for insertion into a cerebral vessel and a deployed state, each deployable element configured to expand to a predetermined shape extending radially outward from the engagement section and in a proximal direction in the deployed state; comprising a micro catheter having proximal and distal ends and a lumen extending therebetween, wherein the deployable element is configured to be advanced through the lumen of the micro catheter in the contracted state; comprising a loading device having proximal and distal ends and a bore extending therebetween, wherein the deployable element is configured to be advanced through the bore in the contracted state; and an atraumatic tip affixed to a distal end of the engagement section; wherein each deployable element consists of a first region coupled by a bendable region to a second region, the deployable member configured so that the first region lies substantially end-to-end with the second region in the contracted state and the first and second regions are disposed adjacent to one another in the deployed state.