Abstract: A system for recanalizing an occluded blood vessel including a centering catheter employed to center an ablative guide wire within the blood vessel as the guide wire traverses the occlusion. The centering catheter includes a catheter body with an operative lumen through which the ablative guide wire is slidingly disposed. The centering catheter further includes a distally disposed centering mechanism that, when activated, centers the ablative guide wire within the blood vessel as it traverses the occlusion. The centering mechanism can comprise various embodiments including a single inflatable balloon or segmented inflatable balloon, which is in fluid communication with an inflation lumen. An airless preparation lumen may be disposed within the inflation lumen for ease of centering catheter preparation. The ablative guide wire includes insulation that is preferably formed of heat shrink tubing, which is stretched prior or concurrently with the heating process.

Abstract: The present invention provides a device and method for retrieving a balloon expandable stent which has been misplaced. It utilizes a balloon catheter which is sized to fit into the inside diameter of a stent to be retrieved. The stent has proximal and distal ends and a predefined expansion force threshold which must be exceeded in order to radially expand the stent. The balloon has proximal and distal ends, a greater axial length than the stent to be retrieved, and is made of a compliant material which will deform at less than the predefined expansion force threshold of the stent.

Abstract: The present invention provides a balloon catheter with a length compensator, which can be an accordion section or a slipping sleeve section. In the accordion section embodiment of the invention, the outer shaft of the catheter includes an accordion section positioned proximally of the balloon. In this embodiment the length compensator is comprised of the accordion section and the outer shaft between the accordion section and the point where the proximal end of the balloon is attached to the outer shaft. The distal end of the balloon is attached to an inner shaft. As the balloon is inflated the accordion section expands to adjust the axial length of the length compensator to compensate for the movement of the two ends of the balloon towards each other. In the slipping sleeve embodiment of the invention, the inner shaft of the catheter includes a slipping sleeve section positioned proximally of the point where the distal end of the balloon is connected to the inner shaft.