referring now to fig1 a first embodiment of a clot disruption system 10 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention will be described . the clot disruption system 10 includes a clot disruption catheter 12 and a motor drive unit 14 . the catheter 12 has a distal section 16 which comprises the expansible cage and macerator components of the catheter , as described in greater detail in connection with fig2 a and 2b . a proximal hub 18 is secured to the proximal end of the catheter 12 and removably connectable to the motor drive unit 14 . the motor drive unit 14 will be configured to transmit rotational and / or axial translational forces through a tubular shaft 22 ( fig2 a and 2b ) to manipulate the macerator . a slidable ring 24 is shown schematically on the motor drive unit 14 and is intended , for example , to permit axial translation of the macerator . such axial translation , however , is not essential and is only an optional feature of the present invention . the distal section 16 of the clot disruption catheter 12 is best illustrated in fig2 a . the distal section 16 comprises a radially expansible cage 26 which may have any of the forms and structures described above . in particular , cage 26 may comprise a plurality of helical wires or other elements 26 a , as illustrated in fig2 c . alternatively , the cage may comprise a plurality of straight , axially aligned wires or other elements 26 b , as shown in fig2 d . in the catheter 12 , the expansible cage 26 will be self - expanding , i . e ., it will assume its radially expanded configuration absent any constraining forces . the cage 26 is shown in its expanded configuration in each of fig1 a , 2 c , and 2 d . the distal tips of the cage elements are attached to a nose cone 28 which may be fixed or floating relative to the main portion of the catheter body 12 , as described in more detail below . the body of clot disruption catheter 12 will have a lumen 30 extending from hub 18 to the distal section 16 , and the tubular shaft 22 will be disposed within the lumen 30 . a distal end 32 of the tubular shaft 22 will be connected to the nose cone 28 , and the shaft will preferably have an inner lumen 34 which terminates in a series of infusion ports 36 ( which may be circular , as illustrated or may be elongate slits or may have a variety of other geometries ) disposed between the distal end of the body of catheter 12 and the nose cone 28 . the lumen 34 and infusion ports 36 will be useful , for example , for delivering thrombolytic and other agents used in connection with clot disruption . the lumen will also receive a guidewire 20 to facilitate positioning within a blood vessel or other body lumen . macerator 40 is disposed on the tubular shaft 22 within the expansible cage 26 . the macerator 40 is illustrated as a helical wire or filament , but could comprise any of the structures described previously . helical wire 42 is formed from spring material , typically a spring stainless steel or shape memory alloy , and is fixedly attached to the shaft 22 at both ends . first attachment point 44 is visible in fig2 a , while the second attachment point is hidden behind the shaft . with this configuration of wire 42 , it will be appreciated that the macerator 40 is self - expanding . radial compression forces will cause the element 42 to collapse radially inwardly against the exterior of shaft 22 . macerator 40 comprising helical wire 42 is intended to operate by rotation of the shaft 22 . when the shaft 22 is rotating , the helix will trace a generally ovoid shell within the expansible cage 26 , thus engaging and disrupting occlusive material which is within the cage . in particular , when treating clot within blood vessels , the helical wire 42 will disrupt the clot and engage and entangle materials within the clot , particularly fibrin fibers which make up a substantial portion of the clot material . by breaking up and engaging the clot in this fashion , the clot is pulled away from the blood vessel wall rather than sheared from the wall as in many prior thrombectomy and atherectomy procedures . in particular , the combination of the expansible positioning cage 26 and the macerator which is spaced radially inward from the shell defined by the cage , clot removal and disruption can be performed with minimum risk of injury to the blood vessel wall . the expansible cage 26 and macerator 40 will usually be radially collapsed to facilitate introduction and withdrawal of the catheter 12 to and from a target site within the vasculature or other body lumen . the necessary radial constraint can be provided in a number of ways . for example , a tether or filament could be wrapped around both the cage 26 and the macerator 40 , with the constraint being removed when the device reaches the target site . alternatively , the cage 26 and / or the macerator 40 could be composed of a heat memory material , permitting deployment by use of an induced temperature change , e . g ., by passing an electrical current through the structures or by infusing a heated or cooled fluid past the structures . preferably , however , a radial constraint will be provided by a sheath 46 which can be axially advanced to radially collapse both the cage 26 and macerator 40 . optionally , the catheter 12 may further comprise a mechanical pump to assist in the removal of disrupted clot and other debris which is produced by operation of the macerator . conveniently , the mechanical pump may comprise a helical rotor 48 which is disposed over the outer surface of the tubular shaft 22 , as illustrated in both fig2 a and 2b . preferably , although not necessarily , the helical rotor 48 will extend from the proximal side of the macerator ( helical wire 42 ) all the way into the interior of the hub 18 . in this way , disrupted clot on other fluid materials can be pumped proximally by the rotor 48 ( which acts as an “ archimedes screw ”) as the macerator and tubular shaft are rotated . referring now to fig3 a and 3b , the catheter 12 is shown with the distal section 16 in its radially expanded configuration in fig3 a . in particular , sheath 46 is proximally withdrawn to permit both the cage 26 and macerator 40 to radially expand to their maximum diameters . of course , if the catheter 12 were present in a blood vessel or other body lumen , the radial expansion of the cage 26 would be limited by contact with the luminal wall . in order to facilitate introduction or withdrawal of the catheter 12 from the target body lumen , the distal section 16 can be radially collapsed by distally advancing the sheath 46 , as shown in fig3 b . referring now to fig2 b , the construction of proximal hub 18 will be described . a rotating hemostatic fitting 50 is provided at the proximal end of catheter 12 and mates with the distal end of hub body 52 . tubular shaft 22 passes from the lumen 30 of catheter 12 into the interior 54 of hub body 52 . a rotating hemostatic seal structure 56 is also provided within the interior 54 and divides the interior into a first isolated region 58 and a second isolated region 60 . the first isolated region 58 has connector branch 62 which permits aspiration of fluids and materials through the lumen 30 of catheter 12 . a second connector branch 64 opens to the second isolated region 60 and permits infusion of therapeutic agents , such as thrombolytic agents , into the lumen 34 of the tubular shaft 22 through ports 68 . a rotating seal 70 is provided at the proximal end of the hub and a hemostatic valve 72 is provided on the proximal end of tubular shaft 22 to permit introduction of a guidewire . the connector 72 will also be suitable for coupling to the motor drive unit 14 to permit rotation of shaft 22 which in turn rotates the macerator 40 . note that the hub 18 illustrated in fig2 b is not suitable for axial translation of the shaft 22 relative to the catheter 12 . referring now to fig4 a and 5 b , a second exemplary clot disruption catheter 100 will be described . the catheter 100 includes a catheter body 102 and a tubular shaft 104 which is rotatably and axially slidably received in a lumen of the catheter body . the catheter 100 has a distal section 106 including a radially expansible cage 108 and a macerator 110 in the form of an arcuate wire . in contrast to catheter 12 of the first embodiment , both the expansible cage 108 and macerator 110 will be selectively and controllably expansible in the clot disruption catheter 100 . referring in particular to fig5 a and 5b , the tubular shaft 104 extends through lumen 103 of the catheter body 102 and terminates in a nose cone 112 . a bearing structure 114 receives the tubular shaft 104 and permits both rotation and axial translation thereof relative to the catheter body 102 . while the bearing 114 could be positioned directly on the distal tip of the catheter body 102 , that would block lumen 103 and prevent collection of disrupted clot or other occlusive material therein . thus , it is desirable to mount the bearing structure 114 distal to the distal end of catheter body 102 , e . g ., on spacer rods 116 , to provide an opening or gap which permits aspiration of disrupted clot or other material through the lumen 103 . the distal end of tubular shaft 104 is mounted in a second bearing structure 118 located in the nose cone 12 . bearing structure 118 permits rotation but not axial translation of the shaft 104 . thus , when the shaft 104 is drawn proximally in the direction of arrow 120 ( fig5 b ), the distance between the nose cone 12 and the bearing structure 114 is reduced . this causes the elements of cage 108 to axially shorten and radially expand . while the elements of cage 108 are shown as axial wires or filaments , it will be appreciated that they could be helical or have any one of a variety of other configuration which would permit radial expansion upon axial contraction . similarly , the macerator wire 110 is fixedly attached to the tubular shaft 104 at an attachment point 122 . the other end of the macerator wire 110 is connected at attachment point 124 to the portion of bearing structure 114 which rotates together with the tubular shaft 104 . in this way , the macerator is both axially shortened so that it radially expands and is able to rotate when the tubular shaft 104 is rotated , e . g ., in the direction of arrow 126 . optionally , the clot disruption catheter 100 , or any of the other clot disruption catheters described herein , may include a mechanical pump component to assist in extraction of clot or other disrupted materials through the lumen of the catheter . as best seen in fig5 a and 5b , the mechanical pump may comprise a simple helical screw , such as a helically wound wire or other element 130 . such a helical screw pump is commonly referred to as an “ archimedes ” screw pump and operates by creating a vortical flow as the screw pump is rotated . while in some instances use of the screw pump may be sufficient in itself to remove materials , the screw pump will most often be used in combination with vacuum aspiration to remove materials through the lumen of the catheters . thus far , clot disruption catheter embodiments have been shown where both the expansible positioning cage and the macerator are self - expanding and where expansion of the cage and macerator are mechanically coupled together , i . e ., neither the cage nor the macerator may be expanded or contracted independent of the other . the present invention contemplates other embodiments where either or both of the expansible cage and the macerator may be independently expanded and where the other may optionally be self - expanding . for example , as shown in fig6 a and 6b , a clot disruption catheter 200 comprises a catheter body 202 having a tubular shaft 204 and a lumen 203 thereof . the shaft 204 has a macerator 210 in the form of a helical wire which is fixedly attached at point 212 and slidably attached at point 214 . in contrast with the previous embodiments , the tubular shaft 204 is not connected to nose cone 216 , but instead floats on a rod 218 which extends proximally from the nose cone . a contraction sleeve 220 is slidably received over the wires which form cage 208 in such a way that proximal movement of the sleeve 220 ( relative to the position shown in fig6 a ) will cause the cage to radially collapse , i . e ., as shown in fig6 b . proximal translation of the sleeve 220 can be effected by proximally drawing tubular shaft 204 so that constraining bearings 222 on the shaft draw the sleeve 220 in the proximal direction together with the shaft . thus , selective expansion and contraction of the cage 208 can be effected by axial movement of the tubular shaft 204 relative to the catheter body 202 . structural integrity of the catheter will be maintained by presence of the rod 218 within the distal end of the lumen 240 within the tubular shaft 204 . proximal motion of the sleeve 220 , however , does not directly collapse the macerator 210 . instead , the macerator 210 is collapsed by a combination of forces . first , the proximal attachment point 212 is drawn into lumen 203 of the catheter body 202 , thus constraining the macerator and causing its partial collapse . the remainder of the macerator will be collapsed by the force of the cage structure 208 as it is drawn inwardly by the sleeve 220 . the floating attachment point 214 will move over the outer surface of the tubular shaft 204 to accommodate the radial collapse . thus , the embodiment of fig6 a and 6b illustrates the selective radial expansion and contraction of the positioning cage 208 and the self - expansion of the macerator 210 in response to expansion and contraction of the cage . a fourth exemplary clot disruption catheter 300 is illustrated in fig7 a and 7b . the clot disruption catheter 300 comprises catheter body 302 having an expansible cage 304 at its distal end . in contrast to previous embodiments , the expansible cage 304 is in the form of a conical “ funnel ” which may be formed from impervious materials ( which will not permit the bypass of blood or other luminal flows ) or from “ filtering ” materials which will permit blood or other bypass flows . preferably , the funnel will be formed from pervious materials , such as wire meshes , perforate membranes , woven fabrics , non - woven fabrics , fibers , braids , and may be composed of polymers , metals , ceramics , or composites thereof . the filters will have a pore size selected to permit blood flow ( including blood proteins ) but capture disrupted clot and other embolic debris . useful pore sizes will be in the range from 20 μm to 3 mm . the funnel will usually be formed from a flexible filter material and supported on a plurality of rods 306 which can be actively or passively deflected in order to open or close the conical cage . most simply , the rod members 206 will be resilient and have a shape memory which opens the cage structure in the absence of radial constraint . thus , catheter 300 may be conveniently delivered through a sheath , in a manner analogous to that described in connection with fig1 . the clot disruption catheter 310 further includes a macerator assembly 310 , best observed in fig7 b . the macerator comprises a tubular shaft 312 , such as a highly flexible coil shaft adapted to transmit rotational torque . tubular shaft 312 will include an internal lumen to permit introduction over a guidewire 314 . a helical macerator wire 316 has a distal end 318 attached to the distal end of shaft 312 . a proximal portion 320 of the macerator 316 extends through a tube 322 attached to the side of the tubular member 312 . in this way , the helical portion of macerator 316 , which has a helical memory shape , can be expanded and contracted by axially translating the proximal portion 320 . although illustrated passing through a separate tubular member 22 , the proximal portion 320 could pass through the same lumen of the tubular shaft 316 as does the guidewire 314 . it will be appreciated that the macerator structure 316 could be employed with any of the previous embodiments where it is desired to provide for selective expansion and contraction of the macerator . an alternative embodiment of a macerator 400 mounted at the distal end of the tubular shaft 402 is illustrated in fig8 a - 8 c . a macerator 400 comprises a helical wire 404 having a distal end secured to the distal tip of a rod 406 . the rod 406 is slidably and / or rotatably positioned within a lumen of the tubular shaft 402 . thus , by rotating the tubular shaft 402 relative to the rod 406 , as shown in fig8 b , the helical portion of macerator 404 can be wound down ( or wound away from ) the rod 406 . alternatively , by axially translating the tubular body 402 relative to the rod 406 , the macerator 404 can also be collapsed , as shown in fig8 c . it will be appreciated that these macerator embodiments can be utilized in any of the previously described embodiments of the clot disruption catheters of the present invention . referring now to fig9 use of clot disruption catheter 100 and clot disruption catheter 300 for performing a procedure in accordance with the principles of the present invention will be described . the catheters 100 and 300 are introduced to a region within the patient &# 39 ; s venous system , e . g ., at the junction between the iliac veins iv and the inferior vena cava ivc . blood flow is in the direction from bottom to top , and catheter 100 is introduced into the iliac vein iv in an antegrade direction , i . e ., in the direction of blood flow . catheter 300 is introduced into the inferior vena cava ivc in a retrograde direction , i . e ., against the flow of blood . filtering cage 304 is expanded so that the distal end of the “ funnel ” engages and generally seals around the interior wall of the inferior vena cava . positioning cage 26 on catheter 100 is advanced into a region of clot c within the iliac vein iv and the macerator ( not shown ) is activated in order to disrupt the clot . optionally , aspiration ( and / or mechanical pumping ) will be applied through port 62 in order to draw a portion of the disrupted clot out of the patient &# 39 ; s vasculature . further optionally , a thrombolytic agent may be introduced through port 64 . pieces of the disrupted clot dc , however , may be released into the blood flow so that they pass from the iliac vein iv into the inferior vena cava . by positioning the funnel - like cage 304 of catheter 300 within the inferior vena cava , however , the disrupted clot may be captured and , optionally , further disrupted using the macerator assembly within catheter 300 . this material may then be aspirated through port 62 , optionally being transported using a mechanical pump as elsewhere described herein . as just described , blood or other luminal filtering can be used advantageously in connection with the devices and methods of the present invention . while a funnel - like cage was described as part of catheter 300 , the other cage structures described herein can also be provided with a filtering membrane , mesh , or other porous structure as illustrated in fig1 a and 10b . in fig1 a , a clot disruption catheter 500 , which may have any of the specific structures described previously ( except for that of catheter 300 ), has an expansible positioning cage 502 at its distal end . a filtering membrane or mesh 504 is formed over the proximal half of the cage 502 . the catheter 500 will be particularly useful for treating clot c in a blood vessel b in a retrograde direction , i . e ., where the catheter is introduced in a direction against that of blood flow , as shown by arrows 510 . the disrupted clot material captured within the filter 504 may be aspirated through the catheter and / or captured within the mesh as the mesh is collapsed . catheter 600 ( fig1 b ) is similar to catheter 500 and includes an expansible cage 602 having a membrane or mesh filter element 604 thereon . the filter element 604 is disposed over the distal half or portion of the expansible cage 602 , rather than the proximal half . thus , the catheter 600 is particularly useful for treating clot or thrombus using an antegrade approach , i . e ., where the catheter is introduced in the direction of blood flow as shown by arrows 610 . in particular , the catheter 600 may be introduced to a blood vessel bv in a conventional manner and pass through a region of clot c so that the expansible cage 604 lies beyond the clot . the catheter may then be drawn proximally so that the internal macerator can disrupt the clot . the disrupted clot will then be collected within the filter 604 , and can withdrawn from the blood vessel by collapsing the filter together with the cage . turning now to fig1 , the present invention further comprises kits which include at least a catheter , which is shown to be catheter 100 but can be any other catheter capable of disrupting clot in accordance with the methods of the present invention . the kit will further include instructions for use ifu setting forth any of the methods described above . optionally , the kit may further comprise a motor drive unit 14 or other kit components , such as a guidewire , a thrombolytic agent , or the like . usually , the kit components will be packaged together in a pouch p or other conventional medical device packaging , such as a box , tray , tube , or the like . usually , at least the catheter component will be sterilized and maintained sterilely within the package . optionally , the motor drive unit may not be included with the kits , but may instead be provided as a reusable system component . in that case , usually , the catheter will be disposable . while the above is a complete description of the preferred embodiments of the invention , various alternatives , modifications , and equivalents may be used . therefore , the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims .
thrombectomy and other treatments are achieved using a catheter having a positioning cage and a macerator within the positioning cage . the catheter is introduced to a target body lumen , typically a blood vessel , and a positioning cage deployed at a treatment site . the macerator is then operated to disrupt thrombus , clot , or other occlusive materials at the treatment site , and the catheter is used to collect and remove the disruptive materials from the body lumen . in particular examples , the macerator may be radially expansible and optionally rotated and / or axially translated within the positioning cage to effect disruption of the occlusive material .