Patent ID: 7662165

Claim:
A vascular filtration device for removing embolic material in body fluid flowing within a vessel, the vascular filtration device having a pre-deployment state and a deployment state, comprising: a solid guidewire having a longitudinal axis; and a filter assembly comprising: a first collar, the solid guidewire extending through the first collar and the first collar being slidably movable on the solid guidewire; a filter element coupled to the first collar, the filter element comprising a filter membrane and a filter support frame for the membrane; the filter frame being collapsed in the pre-deployment state and the filter frame being expanded in the deployment state; the filter element having at least one inlet opening at a proximal end of the filter element and a plurality of outlet openings towards a distal end of the filter element, the outlet openings allowing the body fluid to flow through the filter element but retaining embolic material within the filter element, and the inlet opening being larger than any of the outlet openings; the filter membrane having a proximal end which terminates distal of a proximal end of the filter support frame; and a second collar spaced-apart along the solid guidewire from the first collar, wherein the second collar is non-slidably fixed to the solid guidewire and the filter element, and the second collar is located proximal of the first collar.