The disclosure provides various embodiments of systems to facilitate the cutting of luminal tissue structures percutaneously.

An apparatus for treating a treatment area in the vasculature using a catheter having a balloon. The apparatus comprises a guidewire for guiding the balloon to the treatment area, said guidewire including one or more radiopaque markings arranged for corresponding to the treatment area. Related aspects and methods are also disclosed.

A reentry catheter for crossing a vascular occlusion includes an elongate flexible tubular body, having a proximal end, a distal end and at least one lumen extending there through. A reentry zone on the tubular body includes at least two and preferably three sets of opposing pairs of axially spaced exit apertures in communication with the lumen. The apertures are rotationally offset from each other and aligned in a spiral pattern around the tubular body. Each aperture may be defined within a radiopaque reinforcing ring embedded within the tubular body. A first set of opposing pairs of reinforcing rings may be separated axially from a second set of opposing pairs of reinforcing rings and may be connected by a flexible hinge section.

A reentry catheter for crossing a vascular occlusion includes an elongate flexible tubular body, having a proximal end, a distal end and at least one lumen extending there through. A reentry zone on the tubular body includes at least two and preferably three sets of opposing pairs of axially spaced exit apertures in communication with the lumen. The apertures are rotationally offset from each other and aligned in a spiral pattern around the tubular body. Each aperture may be defined within a radiopaque reinforcing ring embedded within the tubular body. A first set of opposing pairs of reinforcing rings may be separated axially from a second set of opposing pairs of reinforcing rings and may be connected by a flexible hinge section.

A medical guidewire configured for puncturing a tissue. The medical guidewire includes an elongate guidewire body having a proximal portion with a first outer diameter and a distal portion with a second outer diameter. The second outer diameter is smaller than the first outer diameter, forming a tapered section between the first outer diameter and second outer diameter. The medical guidewire further includes a piercing device extending from the distal portion, forming a puncturing distal tip. An identification device is positioned on the elongate guidewire body on the first outer diameter proximal the tapered section. The identification device is configured to enhance detectable visibility of the medical guidewire.

This medical device (Li-VanThiel tube) is designed to add 21st century technologies to a 20th century device in order to ease application and increase safety. The current Shengstaken-Blakemore tube is very difficult to use and dangerous to deploy. The Li-VanThiel tube utilizes guided tube insertion, inflates by using a pressure regulated pre-charged air canister, It has a smaller pre-deployment diameter and a variable stiffness tube feature to overcome the short comings of the old design.

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.

The present invention provides a guide wire that has a distal end portion having excellent flexibility and sufficient strength and has excellent torque transmission performance. A guide wire 10 has a core wire 2, a torque tube 4 having a base end joined to a distal end of the core wire 2, and an insertion distal end portion 6 joined to a distal end of the torque tube 4, and may further have a helical body 8 disposed outside the torque tube 4 and having a distal end joined to the insertion distal end portion 6, in which the torque tube 4 is a hollow member including a tubular constituent layer 11 formed in such a way that a plurality of wires spirally wound in a same direction is combined in parallel.

An apparatus includes a catheter having a balloon including at least one first radiopaque marking. A guidewire guides the balloon to the treatment area, and includes at least one second radiopaque marking adapted for corresponding to the at least one first radiopaque marking of the balloon when positioned at the treatment area. Related aspects and methods are disclosed.

A guide wire comprises a longitudinal body having a proximal end portion and an opposing distal end portion. The proximal and distal end portions have rigid shafts with a flexible portion disposed therebetween. The flexible portion is fixedly attached to the proximal end portion and distal end portion. An outer surface of the flexible portion has a diameter equal to an outer surface of the proximal end portion and an outer surface of the distal end portion. The distal end portion further comprises at least one marker disposed therein configured to locate a distal tip of the guide wire during imaging.