Patent ID: 8361095

Claim:
A medical device for removing a thrombus, the device comprising: an elongate torsion member having a proximal end and a distal end; and a plurality of helically arranged engagement members disposed at a distal portion of said elongate torsion member, said engagement members having a collapsed state within a sheath for delivery to a treatment site within a patient wherein said engagement members are compressed toward said elongate torsion member, and an expanded state wherein said engagement members are expanded radially outward, said helically arranged engagement members being configured to twistingly engage a thrombus and guide said thrombus along a helical path defined by said plurality of helically arranged engagement members; wherein said engagement members are attached to and extend radially outward from said elongate torsion member at different longitudinal points along said elongate torsion member such that adjacent engagement members are spaced longitudinally and circumferentially from each other when in said expanded state, and wherein, in said expanded state at least a radially outermost portion of each of said engagement members has a rounded atraumatic shape that arcs between two sides of a loop.