Patent ID: 6908474

Claim:
Apparatus for removing emboli during an angioplasty or stenting procedure from a vessel having a trunk portion coupled to first and second branches via a bifurcation, the apparatus comprising: a catheter having proximal and distal ends, a first lumen extending therethrough, a blood outlet port in communication with the first lumen, and a distal occlusion element disposed on the distal end of the catheter, the catheter adapted to be disposed in a patient's trunk portion proximal to the bifurcation; and an occlusion member having proximal and distal ends, the occlusion member comprising a self-expanding blood impermeable element, a retrieval wire coupled to the proximal end of the occlusion member and an atraumatic tip coupled to the distal end of the occlusion member, wherein the occlusion member further comprises a contracted state and a deployed state in which the self expanding blood impermeable element is configured to substantially prevent flow in one of the first and second branch vessels.