Methods for capturing embolic debris during endovascular procedures

A method of capturing embolic debris during a surgical procedure in a patient using an embolic capture device in a transapical delivery approach, the embolic capture device having a closed end and an open end, the open end biased to an expanded state and collapsible to a collapsed state, said method comprising:

• inserting the embolic capture device within a sheath of a delivery system via:
• positioning, while the open end is in the expanded state, the closed end of the embolic capture device adjacent to an outer end of the sheath, wherein the sheath comprises an elongated tubular body extending from the outer end to an inner end;
• advancing a deployment tool into the open end and towards the closed end;
• and
• advancing the deployment tool through a cavity defined by the tubular body towards the inner end of the sheath such that the open end is collapsed by the sheath and the embolic capture device is forced into the cavity of the sheath;
• inserting the delivery system into a blood vessel of the patient from a location upstream from a location of the surgical procedure;
• deploying the embolic capture device at a desired location within the blood vessel of the patient at a relative location that is downstream from the location of the surgical procedure via:
• further advancing the deployment tool towards the inner end of the sheath, such that the closed end of the embolic capture device is forced outward from the sheath cavity and the open end emerges from the inner end after the closed end, wherein the biasing of the open end causes the open end to passively expand within the blood vessel to the expanded state;
• and
• after completion of the surgical procedure, recapturing the embolic capture device within the sheath via:
• advancing the deployment tool against a support structure of the embolic capture device, such that the open end collapses towards the collapsed state;
• and
• repositioning the sheath around the embolic capture device, such that the embolic capture device is retained within the sheath cavity.