A catheter has an expansile tip that can be delivered in a constricted form.The increased tipdiameter facilitates the aspiration and removal of large clot volumes byincreasing the area of thecatheter tip that applies aspiration to the clot. The tip comprises a supportframe which can becut from a metal or polymer tube, covered with a thin polymer sleeve 909containing highlyelastic properties. This construction provides good pushability and highcompressive resistance.The cut pattern can contain axial connections of the support frame and ringmembers, which willprovide a large level of axial support, lateral flexibility and hoop strengthto withstand aspiration.The tip of the device can contain a section proximal of the highly flexiblearea that can expand toexcept clot. This potential to increase body diameter facilitates theretrieval of large volume clotswhile the construction of the catheter provides good column stiffness to avoidaxial collapse andstill maintain good flexibility.
