Patent ID: 6905490

Claim:
A method for removing emboli from a region comprising a bifurcation between a common carotid artery, an internal carotid artery and an external carotid artery, the internal carotid artery having a stenosis, the method comprising: providing a catheter having proximal and distal ends, a lumen extending therethrough, an inflatable occlusion element disposed on the distal end, and a blood outlet port disposed on the distal end and coupled to the lumen, the occlusion element extending beyond the distal end of the catheter and forming a tapered entrance to the lumen when expanded; providing a wire having a distal end and a balloon located adjacent the distal end; inserting the distal end of the catheter into the common carotid artery to locate the occlusion element within the common carotid artery at a position proximal to the bifurcation; expanding the occlusion element to occlude antegrade flow through the common carotid artery 767 and to induce reversal of flow from the external carotid artery to the internal carotid artery, the occlusion element forming a funnel-shape that inhibits aggregation of emboli between a wall of the common carotid artery and the distal end of the catheter; while flow is reversed in the external carotid artery, advancing the wire through the catheter to position the balloon in the patient's external carotid artery at a location just distal of the bifurcation; inflating the balloon to occlude flow from the external carotid artery to the internal carotid artery; and aspirating blood from the region of the bifurcation and the internal carotid artery into the lumen of the catheter to remove substantially all emboli from the region while delivering a stent, inserted through the lumen of the catheter, within the stenosis to restore patency to the internal carotid artery.