Clot retrieval system

A system for removing objects from an interior lumen of an animal, the system comprising:

• a pull wire having a proximal end and a distal end;
• a distal body attached to the pull wire, the distal body comprising an interior, a perimeter, a proximal end, a distal end, a distal body length extending from the proximal end to the distal end, a proximal junction forming the proximal end of the distal body, a plurality of proximal strips, a basket comprised of a plurality of cells formed by a plurality of basket strips, and a distal junction forming a distal end of the basket, the basket comprising a basket interior, each proximal strip having a distal end attached to a cell and a proximal end, the proximal ends of the proximal strips converging at the proximal junction, the distal body having a relaxed state wherein the distal body has a first height and a first width, and a collapsed state wherein the distal body has a second height and a second width, the second height less than the first height, the second width less than the first width,
• wherein the distal body, in the relaxed state, comprises a distal tapered region in which the distal body height and width decrease as the basket approaches the distal junction,
• wherein, in the relaxed state, the basket comprises a first pair of x-ray markers located approximately the same distance from the proximal junction and approximately 180 degrees relative to each other, the x-ray makers more visible under x-ray as compared to the basket strips when the distal body is located in a cranial blood vessel inside the body of a human and the x-ray is taken from outside the human's body,
• wherein the proximal end of a first proximal strip is located at least about 65 degrees relative to the distal end of the first proximal strip, wherein the proximal end of a second proximal strip is located at least about 65 degrees relative to the distal end of the second proximal strip, and further wherein the first and second proximal strips intersect adjacent and distal to the proximal junction,
• wherein the basket further comprises a plurality of distal cells having a proximal crown attached to another cell of the basket and pointing generally in the proximal direction and a distal crown pointing generally in the distal direction and attached to the distal junction,
• wherein the basket further comprises a first pair of enlarged cells, each of the first pair of enlarged cells having a center, the centers of the first pair of enlarged cells located approximately the same distance from the proximal junction and approximately 180 degrees relative to each other,
• wherein each cell of the basket comprises a length parallel to the distal body length, and further wherein in the relaxed state, each of the enlarged cells is longer than each of the distal cells, and
• further wherein the first pair of x-ray markers is adjacent to the first pair of enlarged cells.