CATHETER FOR ASPIRATING, FRAGMENTING AND REMOVING REMOVABLE MATERIAL FROM BLOOD VESSELS

The invention relates to a catheter for aspirating, fragmenting and removing extractable material from hollow bodies, in particular thrombi and emboli from blood vessels, with a working head, which is arranged at the distal end of the catheter, is axially displaceable along a guide wire, independently thereof, and comprises at least one lateral opening. The catheter comprises a flexible feed screw which has a distal end and a proximal end and which can be rotated at a speed of rotation by means of a rotary drive of a drive unit remote from the working head. A flexible tube which surrounds the feed screw and is connected to the working head removes the material or the detached thrombi and emboli fragments. The feed screw is designed as a shearing cutting tool which cooperates with the opening in the working head in order to size-reduce and remove the materials or aspirated and/or detached thrombi and emboli which penetrate between the peripheral edges of the feed screw and edges of the openings. A thrust bearing is arranged between the distal end of the feed screw and the working head so as to axially support the feed screw, and is designed as a disc which can be rotated by the feed screw during operation.