Patent ID: 6979343

Claim:
A retrieval catheter assembly, comprising: a catheter; a wall defining a distal tip, said tip defining a lumen, the wall having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein said wall has a curved portion at said distal end curving inwardly toward an axis of said lumen, the wall having a thickness which tapers from a greater thickness at the proximal end to a lesser thickness at the distal end; an embolic protection device disposed on a shaft, the shaft being disposed at least in part in the lumen and extending distally of the catheter; and the wall having a diameter at the distal end that is less than a diameter of the embolic protection device, the wall having an undeflected configuration prior to retrieval of the embolic protection device into the lumen and a deflected configuration during retrieval of the embolic protection device into the lumen, the distal end of the wall being rolled inwardly in the deflected configuration such that a distance between proximal and distal ends of the wall is less in the deflected configuration than in the undeflected configuration.