TEMPORARY INTRALUMINAL FILTER GUIDEWIRE

摘要

The present invention is a temporary intraluminal filter guidewire for use during interventional procedures, such as angioplasty or stent deployment. A braided filter (25) is mounted near the distal end of a steerable guidewire (150), which guides a therapeutic catheter. An actuator rod (62) slides over the guidewire and is removably connected to the filter. The rod controls relative displacement of the filter ends, causing transformation of the filter between a deployed configuration and a collapsed configuration. In several embodiments, the guidewire distal to the filter has a fixed tip length. Other embodiments of the invention include a mechanism for damping (95) longitudinal movement between the distal and proximal ends of the filter.