Self-actuating grasping device

A method for retrieving a foreign object from a location in a patient's body, comprising:

• providing a grasping device having a handle with a self-actuating mechanism, an actuator on the handle coupled to an actuator wire, an elongated shaft member extending distally from the handle with the actuation wire coaxially disposed therein and opposing jaws at a distal end of the elongated shaft member that are coupled to the actuation wire and pivot between an open configuration and a closed configuration;
• advancing the grasping device through a lumen of a medical device until the opposing jaws are adjacent to the foreign object;
• applying an opening force through the actuation wire to the opposing jaws with the actuator;
• positioning the foreign object within a range of the opposing jaws when the opposing jaws are in the open configuration;
• applying a closing force to the opposing jaws with the self-actuating mechanism to secure the foreign object;
• and
• withdrawing the grasping device and retrieving the foreign object.