Medical device and method

Abstract

A vessel-occluding medical device for the use in diagnosis and/or treatment of cardiovascular disease in the human body includes an outer tube, an inner tube slidably housed within the outer tube, and a tubular sleeve comprising a generally U-shaped, direction reversing region, which moves along the length of the tubular sleeve, to assume radially contracted and radially expanded state as the inner and outer tubes move between the first and second positions. When the tubular sleeve is in the radially expanded state, the inner portion of the tubular sleeve has a funnel-shaped surface and a longitudinally-extending opening to permit material to pass therethrough for receipt of material into the inner tube.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device for occluding and removing blockages or particulate matter from a blood vessel, the device comprising:
 an outer tube having a proximal end, a distal tip and a lumen extending from the distal tip toward the proximal end;   an inner tube within the lumen, the inner tube having a proximal end and a distal end;   a flexible tubular sleeve having a first end joined to the distal tip of the outer tube, a second end joined to the distal end of the inner tube, a polymer-coated portion, an uncoated portion, and a generally U-shaped, direction-reversing region, which is formed by, and which moves along a length of, the tubular sleeve when one of the inner tube or the outer tube moves relative to the other tube,   wherein the tubular sleeve is moveable between a radially contracted configuration in which the distal end of the inner tube is extended beyond the distal tip of the outer tube and a radially expanded configuration in which the distal end of the inner tube and the distal tip of the outer tube are moved closer to one another than they are when the tubular sleeve is in the contracted configuration, and   wherein the tubular sleeve in the expanded configuration includes a funnel-shaped surface and a longitudinally-extending opening to permit the blockages or particulate matter to pass into the inner tube.   
     
     
         2 . The medical device according to  claim 1 , wherein the polymer-coated portion comprises a flexible, fluid-impervious membrane. 
     
     
         3 . The medical device according to  claim 1 , wherein the tubular sleeve comprises a braided tubular sleeve. 
     
     
         4 . The medical device according to  claim 1 , wherein the polymer-coated portion is substantially fluid-impermeable, and wherein the uncoated portion is permeable. 
     
     
         5 . A catheter, comprising:
 an outer tube having a proximal end, a distal tip and a lumen extending from the distal tip towards the proximal end;   an inner tube slidably housed within the lumen, the inner tube having a proximal end and a distal end; and   a flexible, braided, tubular sleeve, having a first end joined to the distal tip, a second end joined to the distal end, a polymer-coated portion, and an uncoated portion,   wherein at least one of the inner tube or the outer tube is movable relative to the other tube from a first position, with the distal end of the inner tube positioned distally a first distance from the distal tip of the outer tube, toward one another to a second position, with the distal tip and distal end separated by a second distance, the second distance being shorter than the first distance;   wherein, when the inner and outer tubes are in the first position, the flexible tubular sleeve assumes a radially contracted configuration, and   wherein, when the inner and outer tubes are in the second position, the flexible tubular sleeve assumes a radially expanded funnel configuration.   
     
     
         6 . The catheter according to  claim 5 , wherein the polymer-coated portion of the sleeve is substantially impervious to fluid flow, and wherein the uncoated portion is permeable.