Catheter with coiled tip

A catheter for insertion into a living vessel comprising:

• an elongated tube formed of a flexible elastomeric material and having a proximal end and a distal end, an elongated wire member extending longitudinally within the tube from the proximal end of the tube to the distal end and providing rigidity to the catheter to aid in guiding insertion of the catheter into and through the living vessel,
• a coil section on said catheter movable between a first insertion position and a second operative position, said coil section being extended to the insertion position by extension of the wire member to decrease the diameter of the coil portion for insertion into and through the living vessel;
• said coil section being expanded in diameter and into the coiled operative position upon relaxation of the straightening force applied to the coil section by the wire member,
• said wire member being pulled from the elongated tube leaving a passageway;
• and means connected to the passageway to apply fluid pressure to the coils to stiffen the same.

A catheter for removal of blood clot material from a blood vessel comprising:

• an elongated tube formed of elastomeric material,
• said tube being wound at its internal end to define a conical coiled section,
• said conical coiled section being hollow to form an internal hollow scoop to collect and carry blood clot material when the conical coiled section is pulled in a removal direction,
• coils of said conical coiled section having a memory to open to an expanded position to form the scoop with coils of elastomeric material expanding to engage and slide along the interior wall of the blood vessel during clot removal and,
• an elongated wire member extending longitudinally with tube from a proximal to a distal end of the tube, said wire being connected to said coiled section and being movable in a first direction to decrease the diameter of the coiled section for insertion into the blood vessel and to provide rigidity to the catheter for facilitating insertion,
• said elongated wire member being movable to a second position to allow the coiled section to expand to define the hollow scoop at a location to be cleared of blood clot material.