ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,350,455, issued on July 8.
"Angioplasty balloon snare" was invented by Jonathan Soverow (McLean, Va.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A snare particularly desirable for removing retrograde wires from blood vessels includes a rail wire attached to an inflatable/collapsible balloon of biocompatible semi-compliant resilient plastic material in a "fixed wire" configuration, or the balloon has a "rapid exchange" or "over-the-wire" lumen upon which the balloon may ride along a separate guide wire already in place. An additional lumen or cavity is defined by or within the balloon allowing the capture of objects, such as retrograde wires, within th...