| CPC A61B 17/221 (2013.01) [A61B 2017/00867 (2013.01); A61B 2017/22079 (2013.01); A61B 2090/3966 (2016.02)] | 19 Claims |

|
1. A method of treating a patient with a clot occluding a vessel, the method comprising the steps of:
providing an outer catheter comprising a tubular body and a collar at its distal end;
providing a clot retrieval device comprising a collapsed delivery configuration, an expanded deployed configuration, an elongate shaft, and an expandable element distal of the elongate shaft, the expandable element comprising:
an inner body comprising a proximal pinching element, the proximal pinching element comprising a plurality of adjacent segments having different shapes and being configured such that a radial force exerted by at least two adjacent segments of the plurality of adjacent segments having different sizes differs from each other, and an inner channel connected distal of the proximal pinching element; and
an outer body extending along a longitudinal axis comprising a non-circumferential first scaffolding section and a fully circumferential second scaffolding section pivotably connected distal of the first scaffolding section;
delivering the clot retrieval device in the collapsed configuration to the occluded vessel through a microcatheter;
deploying the clot retrieval device so that at least a portion of the clot passes radially through circumferential gaps in the non-circumferential first scaffolding section and into contact with at least a portion of the proximal pinching element;
while rigidly maintaining the position of the clot retrieval device, advancing the outer catheter along the elongate shaft so that the collar of the outer catheter engages with the expandable element to pinch in compression the at least a portion of the clot with the at least a portion of the proximal pinching element;
withdrawing in unison the outer catheter and the clot retrieval device from the vessel while maintaining the engagement between the collar and the expandable element; and
removing the clot retrieval device and the at least a portion of the pinched clot from the patient,
wherein the non-circumferential first scaffolding section comprises one or more proximal expandable bodies, each proximal expandable body of the one or more proximal expandable bodies comprising a plurality of closed cells that are non-circumferentially located around the non-circumferential first scaffolding section.
|