US Patent 7909810 Guiding catheter with resiliently compressible occluder

A guiding catheter for providing proximal occlusion while intubating a branch vessel lumen in a patient. The catheter comprises an elongate hollow shaft having open proximal and distal ends and a resiliently compressible occluder fixed about the shaft adjacent the distal end, the occluder having a relaxed shape that tapers distally from a major diameter greater than a diameter of the vessel lumen. The occluder may comprise elastic foam material or an impermeable flexible cover clingingly enclosing a resilient support member.