Catheter

1. A method for retrieving an object from a body site comprising:

(a) delivering a catheter to the body site, said catheter comprising:

(aa) a shaft,

(ab) an expandable element, the expandable element having an expanded state and having in the expanded state an annular shape surrounding a passageway, wherein the catheter and expandable element are configured so that the expandable element in the expanded state is rollable along at least a portion of the shaft without slipping when a portion of the shaft is positioned in the passageway, and wherein the expandable element is attached to the catheter shaft such that said shaft at all times extends beyond the distal margins of said expandable element;

(b) bringing the expanded element into the expanded state;

(c) rolling the expandable element in the expanded state along said shaft so as to roll over the object to trap said object in an annular space defined between the wall of said expandable element and said shaft of said catheter; and

(d) removing the catheter from the body.

2. A method for removing debris and/or other particulate matter from a blood vessel comprising:

(a) delivering a catheter system via the peripheral vasculature to a pathologically-involved region of said blood vessel, wherein said catheter system comprises:

(i) a shaft

(ii) an expandable element, the expandable element having an expanded state and having in the expanded state an annular shape surrounding a passageway, wherein the catheter and expandable element are configured so that the expandable element in the expanded state is rollable along at least a portion of the shaft without slipping when a portion of the shaft is positioned in the passageway, and wherein the expandable element is attached to the catheter shaft such that said shaft at all times extends beyond the distal margins of said expandable element;

(b) bringing the expandable element into the expanded state,

(c) rolling the expandable element in the expanded state posteriorly or anteriorly or both posteriorly and anteriorly so as to roll over the object thereby entrapping said debris and/or other particulate matter within an annular space formed between said expandable element and said shaft;

(d) deflating said expandable element, thereby entrapping said debris and/or other particulate matter between the deflated expandable element and the catheter shaft; and

(e) removing the catheter system together with the entrapped debris and/or other particulate matter from the body by means of withdrawing said catheter system through the vasculature.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the catheter shaft further comprises retention elements on its external surface.

4. The method according to claim 2 wherein the catheter shaft further comprises retention elements on its external surface.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the catheter system further comprises a retaining sleeve, wherein the inner surface of the wall of said sleeve is attached at one or more attachment points to the surface of the expandable element, such that an annular space exists between said sleeve and the catheter shaft on at least one side of said attachment points, and where at least part of the entrapped debris and/or particulate matter is entrapped within said annular space.

6. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the catheter system further comprises a retaining sleeve, wherein the inner surface of the wall of said sleeve is attached at one or more attachment points to the surface of the expandable element, such that an annular space exists between said sleeve and the catheter shaft on at least one side of said attachment points, and where at least part of the entrapped debris and/or particulate matter is entrapped within said annular space.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the expandable element is a balloon.

8. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the expandable element is a balloon.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein said catheter further includes a ramming mechanism capable of sliding along said shaft for rolling said expandable element anteriorly on said shaft and wherein said step (c) comprises rolling said expandable element in the expanded state anteriorly along said shaft by ramming said expandable element with said ramming mechanism.

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein said rolling of step (c) is selected from,

rolling said expandable element anteriorly along said shaft,

rolling said expandable element posteriorly along said shaft, and

rolling said expandable element anteriorly and posteriorly along said shaft.

11. The method according to claim 7 further including the step of deflating said balloon prior to said step of removing said catheter.

12. The method according to claim 2 wherein said catheter further includes a ramming mechanism capable of sliding along said shaft for rolling said expandable element anteriorly on said shaft and wherein said step (c) comprises rolling said expandable element in the expanded state anteriorly along said shaft by ramming said expandable element with said ramming mechanism.