Angioplasty balloon snare
View Patent ↗A snare particularly desirable for removing retrograde wires from blood vessels includes a rail wire attached to an inflatable/collapsible balloon of biocompatible semi-compliant resilient plastic material in a “fixed wire” configuration, or the balloon has a “rapid exchange” or “over-the-wire” lumen upon which the balloon may ride along a separate guide wire already in place. An additional lumen or cavity is defined by or within the balloon allowing the capture of objects, such as retrograde wires, within the lumen or cavity when the balloon is deflated. Desirably a central lumen is defined by biocompatible semi-compliant plastic material, or the balloon has a pair of arms so that a bridge wire extending between the pair of arms defines a cavity which can receive objects. An object for repositioning or removal is captured by the gripping action of the balloon assembly alone, without need for the utilization of a conventional snare.
1. A snare comprising a rail wire operatively connected to an inflatable/collapsible elongated balloon of biocompatible semi-compliant resilient plastic material and an elongated lumen or cavity defined by or within the elongated balloon providing for the capture of an object within the elongated lumen or cavity when the balloon is deflated so that the elongated balloon by itself sufficiently snares the object to allow movement of the object with the elongated balloon, wherein the balloon has a cross-sectional area, including the lumen or cavity, of about 1-80 mm 2 and approximately the same length as the lumen or cavity.
2. A snare comprising a rail wire operatively connected to an inflatable/collapsible elongated balloon of biocompatible semi-compliant resilient plastic material and an elongated lumen or cavity defined by or within the elongated balloon providing for the capture of an object within the elongated lumen or cavity when the balloon is deflated so that the elongated balloon by itself sufficiently snares the object to allow movement of the object with the elongated balloon, wherein the balloon lumen or cavity comprises a central elongated lumen defined by the biocompatible semi-compliant plastic material, and wherein the central elongated lumen has a cross-sectional area of about 0.005-0.50 in 2 , and a length of about 1-600 mm.
3. A snare as recited in claim 2 wherein the balloon has a cross-sectional area, including the lumen, of about 1-80 mm 2, and is approximately the same length as the central elongated lumen.
4. A snare comprising a rail wire operatively connected to an inflatable/collapsible elongated balloon of biocompatible semi-compliant resilient plastic material and an elongated lumen or cavity defined by or within the elongated balloon providing for the capture of an object within the elongated lumen or cavity when the balloon is deflated so that the elongated balloon by itself sufficiently snares the object to allow movement of the object with the elongated balloon, wherein the balloon lumen or cavity comprises a central elongated lumen defined by the biocompatible semi-compliant plastic material, and wherein the central elongated lumen has a cross-sectional shape comprising a modified crescent.
5. A snare comprising a rail wire operatively connected to an inflatable/collapsible elongated balloon of biocompatible semi-compliant resilient plastic material and an elongated lumen or cavity defined by or within the elongated balloon providing for the capture of an object within the elongated lumen or cavity when the balloon is deflated so that the elongated balloon by itself sufficiently snares the object to allow movement of the object with the elongated balloon, wherein the rail wire is an antigrade rail wire operatively connected to the balloon by a biocompatible adhesive or stitching.
6. A snare comprising a rail wire operatively connected to an inflatable/collapsible elongated balloon of biocompatible semi-compliant resilient plastic material and an elongated lumen or cavity defined by or within the elongated balloon providing for the capture of an object within the elongated lumen or cavity when the balloon is deflated so that the elongated balloon by itself sufficiently snares the object to allow movement of the object with the elongated balloon, wherein the balloon lumen or cavity comprises a central elongated lumen defined by the biocompatible semi-compliant plastic material, and wherein the material defining the central elongated lumen includes a hydrophilic or hydrophobic interior coating.
7. A snare comprising a rail wire operatively connected to an inflatable/collapsible elongated balloon of biocompatible semi-compliant resilient plastic material and an elongated lumen or cavity defined by or within the elongated balloon providing for the capture of an object within the elongated lumen or cavity when the balloon is deflated so that the elongated balloon by itself sufficiently snares the object to allow movement of the object with the elongated balloon, wherein said wire is operatively connected to an outer surface of said balloon by stitching.
8. A snare comprising a rail wire operatively connected to an inflatable/collapsible elongated balloon of biocompatible semi-compliant resilient plastic material and an elongated lumen or cavity defined by or within the elongated balloon providing for the capture of an object within the elongated lumen or cavity when the balloon is deflated so that the elongated balloon by itself sufficiently snares the object to allow movement of the object with the elongated balloon, wherein the balloon lumen or cavity comprises a central elongated lumen defined by the biocompatible semi-compliant plastic material, and wherein the material defining said central elongated lumen includes a hydrophobic interior coating.
9. A snare comprising a rail wire operatively connected to an inflatable/collapsible elongated balloon of biocompatible semi-compliant resilient plastic material and an elongated lumen or cavity defined by or within the elongated balloon providing for the capture of an object within the elongated lumen or cavity when the balloon is deflated so that the elongated balloon by itself sufficiently snares the object to allow movement of the object with the elongated balloon, and a retrograde wire captured within said lumen or cavity.
10. A snare consisting essentially of:
a wire;
an inflatable/collapsible balloon of biocompatible semi-compliant resilient plastic material operatively connected to said wire; and
a lumen defined within the balloon providing for the capture of an object within the lumen when the balloon is deflated so that the balloon by itself sufficiently snares the object to allow movement of the object with the balloon.
11. A snare comprising a rail wire operatively connected to an inflatable/collapsible elongated balloon of biocompatible semi-compliant resilient plastic material and an elongated lumen or cavity defined by or within the elongated balloon providing for the capture of an object within the elongated lumen or cavity when the balloon is deflated so that the elongated balloon by itself sufficiently snares the object to allow movement of the object with the elongated balloon, and wherein said elongated balloon has first and second ends and wherein said wire operatively connected to said elongated balloon extends both between and past both said first and second ends thereof.