Patent ID: 7867248

Claim:
An embolic protection filter comprising: a filter body having an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end of the filter body having a single inlet opening sized to allow blood and embolic material enter the filter body, the outlet end of the filter body having a plurality of outlet openings sized to allow through passage of blood but to retain undesired embolic material within the filter body; and a filter support being movable between a collapsed position for movement through the vascular system and an extended outwardly projecting position to support the filter body in the expanded position, the filter support comprising a support frame and a tubular sleeve with a lumen therethrough for coupling the filter support to a guidewire, and the support frame comprising a proximal loop structure for supporting the single inlet opening; wherein in the extended outwardly projecting position, there is circumferential apposition between the filter body and an interior wall of a vasculature and the center of the inlet opening is radially offset from the longitudinal axis of the tubular sleeve, and the filter support comprises two wires which extend together axially and radially outwardly in a support leg from the distal end of the filter support to an intermediate point between the proximal end and the distal end of the filter support, and at the intermediate point the two wires separate and extend substantially circumferentially around the filter body to define the proximal loop structure.