Patent ID: 8241319

Claim:
An embolic protection system comprising: a guidewire for advancing through a vasculature, the guidewire having a distal end and a proximal end, the guidewire comprising an abutment; an embolic protection filter having a filter body with a distal end and a proximal end, the filter body providing for a collapsed configuration and an expanded deployed configuration; the embolic protection filter body having a guidewire path defined by a lumen of a tubular sleeve for rotatably and slidably receiving the guidewire to permit movement of the filter relative to the guidewire when the filter is in the collapsed configuration and the expanded deployed configuration, the lumen sized to receive the guidewire abutment within the tubular sleeve; a delivery catheter advanceable over the guidewire for delivery of the embolic protection filter; the delivery catheter having a proximal end and a distal end, the filter being deployed from the distal end of the delivery catheter into the expanded deployed configuration; a retrieval catheter advanceable over the guidewire for retrieval of the filter, the retrieval catheter having a distal end and proximal end; and an engagement element within the lumen of the tubular sleeve for engaging the embolic protection filter with the guidewire abutment for retrieval of the filter into the retrieval catheter in the collapsed configuration; wherein the engagement element and the guidewire abutment cooperate to provide selective engagement and positioning of the filter with respect to the guidewire.