Patent ID: 6929634

Claim:
Apparatus suitable for treating stroke by removing thrombus from a vessel, the apparatus comprising: a catheter having proximal and distal ends, a lumen extending therebetween, and an inflatable occlusive element disposed on the distal end, the inflatable occlusive element having a contracted position suitable for transluminal insertion and an expanded position wherein the inflatable occlusive element occludes antegrade flow in the vessel; a sheath disposed for translation through the lumen of the catheter, the sheath having an interior passageway; a thrombectomy wire consisting of a deployable wire disposed within the interior passageway and having proximal and distal ends, the distal end having a contracted state when disposed within the interior passageway and a deployed state when extended from the interior passageway, wherein the deployable wire is adapted to be inserted into the vessel in the contracted state, and wherein the distal end self-deploys to a predetermined shape in the deployed state, the predetermined shape adapted to engage and remove the thrombus; and means, coupled to the proximal end of the catheter, for inducing retrograde flow through the lumen.