METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ALLOWING INFLATION OF INFLATABLE ELEMENTS WITHIN MEDICAL DEVICES

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method for deploying a medical device in a subject's tubular structure by advancing a catheter through a subject's tubular structure to a target location, the catheter having a tip coupled to a shaft of a T-shaped junction and the T-shaped junction having a crossbar coupled to an inflatable member; and inflating the inflatable member from an uninflated first state to an inflated second state with an inflation medium, where the inflatable member is shaped as a toroid in the inflated second state. In one embodiment the inflated member has attached to it a conical shaped membrane with a drawstring disposed through the shaft, crossbar, and inflatable member for ensnaring debris in the membrane. The orientation of the inflatable member may be perpendicular to the axis of the catheter and is resistant to deflection when forces are encountered in the tubular structure.