The present disclosure relates to guidewire devices having shapeable tips and effective torquability. A guidewire device includes a core having a proximal section and a tapered distal section. A tube structure is coupled to the core such that the tapered distal section extends into the tube structure. The tube structure includes a plurality of bypass cuts formed tangentially within the tube structure to increase the flexibility of the tube structure and to reduce the tendency of resilient forces from the tube structure to disrupt a shaped distal tip of the guidewire device.

A guidewire includes: a shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, and a body extending from the proximal end to the distal end; a blunt tip; and a sleeve; wherein the body of the shaft comprises at least a segment that is surrounded by the sleeve, the segment coupled to the blunt tip; and wherein the segment of the body of the shaft comprises a flat portion having one or more openings extending through a thickness of the flat portion.

The disclosed guidewire includes a wire main body possessing an elongated shape and a cylindrical body possessing a cylindrical shape. The distal portion of the wire main body is positioned in the cylindrical body. The guidewire has an inner coil disposed between the wire main body and the cylindrical body. The inner coil includes a wire rod wound in a spiral shape along the outer circumferential portion of the wire main body. There is an interval between the wire rods adjacent to each other in a longitudinal direction of the wire main body that is adjustable. The guidewire also has an operation member that changes the interval between the wire rods of the inner coil.

A guidewire for a medical device is disclosed. The guidewire includes an elongate body, a proximal connector assembly, a corewire, and a sensor assembly. The body has an annular wall that defines an interior lumen. The proximal connector assembly is coupled to the body and is configured for connection to a medical positioning system. The corewire extends through the lumen. The sensor assembly located on a distal end of the corewire is electrically connected to the proximal connector assembly. The sensor assembly is configured to generate an electrical signal indicative of a position of the sensor assembly in a reference coordinate system defined by the medical positioning system. The body includes a helical cutout extending over a predetermined length of the body. The helical cutout is configured to increase the flexibility of the body over the predetermined length of the body.

A medical guidewire system including an inner member having an outer diameter and an outer member having an inner diameter, the inner diameter being larger than the outer diameter. The inner and outer members are relatively slidable to adjust a stiffness of the guidewire system. The lumen of the outer member forms a gap for fluid flow therethrough. A connector to the inner member and a fluid infusion channel communicating with the gap for injection of fluid through the gap to exit a distal portion of the outer member.

A guidewire system may include a guidewire having a relatively stiff proximal section and a relatively flexible distal section joined by a transition region, and a TAVI device slidably disposed on the guidewire. The guidewire may include an expandable element disposed about the transition region. The expandable element may be configured to expand from a collapsed configuration to an expanded configuration. The guidewire may include an expandable element disposed at the distal end. The distal section may be pre-configured to form more than one distal loop. A method of protecting an apex of a left ventricle during a TAVI procedure may include inserting a guidewire into the left ventricle, positioning a transition region adjacent the apex, expanding an expandable element such that the expandable element spans the apex, advancing a TAVI device distally over the guidewire to an aortic valve, and performing a TAVI procedure at the aortic valve.

The invention relates to evaluation of maturity of arteriovenous (AV) fistula using guidewires that measure intravascular blood flow and/or pressure. The invention provides methods of evaluating AV fistula maturation using an instrumented guidewire to measure intravascular flow and/or pressure. By using a small diameter guidewire that does not interfere substantially with the flow, an accurate measurement can be made that is useful for identifying when a fistula is mature and therefore ready to be used for hemodialysis. The flow of blood through the fistula is measured using the guidewire and the measured flow and/or pressure of blood is used to determine if the fistula is mature.

Guidewires and thin-film catheter-sheaths, fabricated using vacuum deposition techniques, which are monolayer or plural-layer members having ultra-thin wall thicknesses to provide very-low profile delivery assemblies for introduction and delivery of endoluminal devices.

A guidewire including a thin elongated structure and an outer shell around at least a portion of the thin elongated structure. The outer shell includes a first portion and a second portion. The first portion and the second portion of the outer shell are each coupled to the thin elongated structure. The first portion is spaced from the second portion by a gap. The guidewire is configured to move between a flexible state and a rigid state. The gap has a first distance when the guidewire is in the flexible state and the gap has a second distance greater than the first distance when the guidewire is in the rigid state.

A male coupler for a guidewire, the guidewire having a hollow walled tube, the male coupler comprising a connector section, coupled with the guidewire, a portion of the connector section having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the hollow tube, at least one conducting ring coupled with the connector section where the diameter of the connector section is smaller the diameter of the guidewire, wherein the diameter of connecter section and the at least one conducting ring substantially equals the diameter of the guidewire.