A micropuncture kit for direct access of a surgically exposed vessel using direct visual guidance includes a micropuncture access needle having a proximal hub coupled to an elongate shaft defining an inner lumen and a visible depth indicator positioned on the elongate shaft a distance away from a distal tip of the elongate shaft. The kit includes an access guidewire sized to be received through the inner lumen of the micropuncture access needle and a microaccess cannula having an elongate body defining an inner lumen and a plurality of visible depth indicators formed on the elongate body. The guidewire includes a distal tip and at least one visible depth indicator positioned on the access guidewire a distance away from the distal tip of the guidewire. Each of the plurality of visible depth indicators identifies a distance from a distal tip of the cannula. Related systems, devices and methods are provided.

A guidewire includes an elongate core member having an intermediate segment, a distal segment and a proximal segment, a distal shoulder between the intermediate segment and the distal segment and a proximal shoulder between the intermediate segment and the proximal segment. A coil having a proximal end and a distal end is disposed about at least a portion of the distal segment of the elongate core member and disposed adjacent to the distal shoulder. A distal tip comprising a polymer material is disposed adjacent to the distal end of the coil and a proximal polymer member, the proximal polymer member disposed adjacent to the proximal shoulder. At least the intermediate segment and the coil have a diameter that is substantially the same.

A guide wire includes a plurality of segments which can interlock rotatably relative to one another. A locking element extends through a lumen of the segments. When the locking element is in an unlocked condition the segments are able to rotate relative to one another. In this mode, the guide wire is very flexible. The locking element can be tightened to cause the segments to lock in engagement with one another and to fix the guide wire in position. In practice, the guide wire can be fixed in a curved or bent configuration, which enables the guide wire to provide a rigid support for a microcatheter or other element of an introducer assembly. The guide wire therefore can exhibit both extreme flexibility and stiffness.

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.

A guide wire includes a wire main body that has a plate-like portion in a distal end portion of the wire main body and a reinforcement portion that is provided on at least one surface of the plate-like portion and reinforces the plate-like portion. The reinforcement portion is made up of two wire rods, and both end portions of the reinforcement portion are fixed to the plate-like portion. The plate-like portion is formed in a ribbon shape, and the reinforcement portions are diagonally provided on the same plane of the plate-like portion, and intersect each other. The guide wire has a coil that covers the plate-like portion and the reinforcement portion.

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 delivery member is provided for delivering and deploying an intravascular medical device. The delivery member includes a flexible distal portion including a wound wire coil surrounded by a flexible sleeve and inhibited from extending lengthwise by a stretch resistant member positioned through the lumen of the coil. The delivery member can include hypotubes positioned on either side (distally and proximally) from the wound wire coil to which the stretch resistant member and the wound wire coil can be attached.

Guide wire apparatuses and methods. Guide wires may be utilized for guiding a delivery apparatus, for example a transcatheter mitral valve delivery apparatus to replace a native mitral valve. A guide wire may include a core body having a length, and an outer layer having a length and extending around the core body and along the length of the core body. A guide wire may include an intermediate layer positioned between the core body and the outer layer and configured to be retracted relative to the core body and the outer layer along the length of the core body and the length of the outer layer.

A catheter assembly is disclosed, which includes a catheter, a catheter hub, a guide wire, and a guide wire hub. The guide wire has a guide wire rigidity changing portion that gradually decreases in rigidity from a proximal side toward a distal side, and the catheter has a catheter rigidity changing portion that gradually decreases in rigidity from a proximal side toward a distal side. In the catheter assembly, the catheter hub and the guide wire hub are connected to each other in a state where the distal side of the guide wire is exposed from a distal end of a lumen of a shaft portion and a guide wire rigidity changing point and a catheter rigidity changing point are aligned with each other in an axial direction.

A section is disclosed for use with a portion assembly. The section can include a solid core section with a distal section having a first diameter, and a proximal section having a second diameter, wherein the second diameter can be greater than the first diameter. The section can include a coil wound around the distal section of the solid core section. The proximal section can have a flexural stiffness that is less than a flexural stiffness of the distal section. A length of the distal section of the section may be shorter than the length of the portion. A length of the proximal section of the section may be longer than the length of the portion.