Microvention, Inc.

George R Green, Jr

Brian J Cox

Robert Rosenbluth

Sean Chow

Richard Monetti

Thomas R Sternweiler

Robert A Pecor

Maricela D Walker

Sean L Chow

Teresa L Halverson

Richard R Monetti

Robert F Rosenbluth

Embolectomy catheters, rapid exchange microcatheters, systems and methods for removing clots or other obstructive matter (e.g., thrombus, thromboemboli, embolic fragments of atherosclerotic plaque, foreign objects, etc.) from blood vessels. This invention is particularly useable for percutaneous removal of thromboemboli or other obstructive matter from small blood vessels of the brain, during an evolving stroke or period of cerebral ischemia. In some embodiments, the embolectomy catheters of this invention are advanceable with or over a guidewire which has been pre-inserted through or around the clot. Also, in some embodiments, the embolectomy catheters include clot removal devices which are deployable from the catheter after the catheter has been advanced at least partially through the clot. The clot removal device may include a deployable wire nest that is designed to prevent a blood clot from passing therethrough. The delivery catheter may include telescoping inner and outer tubes, with the clot removal device being radially constrained by the outer tube. Retraction of the outer tube removes the constraint on the clot removal device and permits it to expand to its deployed configuration. An infusion guidewire is particularly useful in conjunction with the embolectomy catheter, and permits infusion of medicaments or visualization fluids distal to the clot.

Embolectomy catheters and methods for treating stroke and other small vessel thromboembolic disorders

Embolectomy catheters, rapid exchange microcatheters, systems and methods for removing clots or other obstructive matter (e.g., thrombus, thromboemboli, embolic fragments of atherosclerotic plaque, foreign objects, etc.) from blood vessels. This invention is particularly useable for percutaneous removal of thromboemboli or other obstructive matter from small blood vessels of the brain, during an evolving stroke or period of cerebral ischemia. In some embodiments, the embolectomy catheters of this invention are advanceable with or over a guidewire which has been pre-inserted through or around the clot. Also, in some embodiments, the embolectomy catheters include clot removal devices which are deployable from the catheter after the catheter has been advanced at least partially through the clot. The clot removal device may included a deployable wire nest that is designed to prevent a blood clot from passing therethrough. The delivery catheter may include telescoping inner and outer tubes, with the clot removal device being radially constrained by the outer tube. Retraction of the outer tube removes the constraint on the clot removal device and permits it to expand to its deployed configuration. An infusion guidewire is particularly useful in conjunction with the embolectomy catheter, and permits infusion of medicaments or visualization fluids distal to the clot.

Apparatus for vascular embolization, deployable through a microcatheter, includes a flexible, elongate deployment tube dimensioned for insertion through the microcatheter, and a filamentous embolic device releasably attached to the distal end of the tube. The embolic device is controllably transformable from a soft, compliant state to a rigid or semi-rigid state. The embolic device may include a polymeric material that is transformable by contact with vascular blood or with a liquid that is cooler than vascular blood, or it may include a metallic material that is transformable by electrolytic corrosion. The embolic device may be a continuous filamentous polymeric extrusion; an elongate microcoil filled with polymeric material; an elongate, multi-segmented chain including polymeric interconnecting portions; or an elongate chain of metal segments that are fused together by electrolytic corrosion. An aneurysm is embolized with this apparatus by deploying a microcatheter so that its distal end is adjacent the aneurysm; deploying the embolic device through the microcatheter and into the aneurysm so that the embolic device forms a web-like mass in the aneurysm; and transforming the embolic device from its soft, compliant state to its rigid or semi-rigid state. The embolic device is advantageously deployed by releasably attaching it to a flexible, elongate deployment tube that is passed through the microcatheter, and then detaching the embolic device from the tube when the embolic device is suitably situated.

Apparatus and method for vascular embolization

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Costa Mesa, CA, United States of America

George R Green, Jr