Rotary-catheter for atherectomy

An atherectomy system insertable into a human blood vessel for coring and removing an obstruction therein, comprising in combination:

• a flexible guide-wire insertable into said blood vessel,
• a flexible rotary-catheter defining continuous passage and being rotatably disposed and slidable over said flexible guide-wire, said flexible rotary-catheter having a proximal and distal ends,
• a rotary coring means for cutting and ingesting obstruction material, located at said distal end,
• a coupling means for rotating said flexible rotary-catheter around said flexible guide-wire, located at said proximal end,
• inclined plane means being located in said continuous passage for assisting the obstruction material in moving proximally therein.

A process for removing from a human blood vessel an obstruction made of a soft blood clot formed on an atherosclerotic plaque, comprising the following steps:

• inserting into the blood vessel a flexible guide-wire and advancing it into the obstruction,
• inserting into the blood vessel, over the flexible guide-wire, a flexible rotary-catheter having a proximal end and a distal end with a rotary coring means at the distal end,
• advancing the distal end to mechanically engage and unseat the blood clot while applying suction to the proximal end to ingest the blood clot into the distal end,
• rotating and advancing the rotary coring means to cut and swallow the atherosclerotic plaque,
• removing the system with the blood clot and the atherosclerotic plaque from the blood vessel.