Atherectomy system adapted to free a stuck atherectomy burr

An atherectomy system, comprising:

• an atherectomy burr;
• a drive mechanism adapted to rotatably actuate the atherectomy burr;
• a controller adapted to operate the drive mechanism in a first rotational direction;
• the controller further adapted to determine when the atherectomy burr becomes stuck, and when the atherectomy burr becomes stuck, the controller is further adapted to alternate between actively driving the drive mechanism in the first rotational direction for a first distance and actively driving the drive mechanism in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction for a second distance different from the first distance.