A method of making a medical guidewire including providing a wire having a length that includes a proximal length and a distal length. The method further includes applying cold work to the distal length and not applying cold work to the proximal length, thereby imparting to the distal length a diameter that is smaller than the proximal length diameter; and applying a reducing process to the wire whereby the proximal length is reduced to have an outer diameter that is the same as the outer diameter of the distal length. The proximal length has an inner diameter and the distal length has an inner diameter that is less than the inner diameter of the proximal length.

Intraluminal and endovascular devices and methods of manufacturing intraluminal and endovascular devices may be provided. In one implementation, an intraluminal device may include a sheath having a flexible distal bending segment and a core wire arranged within the sheath. The core wire may include a distal end portion doubled back in a loop within the sheath such that the distal tip of the core wire is situated proximally from the loop. The intraluminal device may also include a movement restrictor within the sheath that is configured to limit axial movement of the distal tip of the core wire. Limiting the axial movement of the core wire distal tip may cause the loop of the core wire to buckle, resulting in a bend in the distal bending segment of the sheath, when a force is exerted on the core wire.

In one exemplary embodiment, an endovascular device may include a hollow shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, and sized for insertion into a blood vessel. The endovascular device may also include a control line having a proximal end and a distal end, and extending through the hollow shaft. The endovascular device may also include an actuatable working element located proximate the distal end of the hollow shaft, and configured to receive an actuation force transmitted via the distal end of the control line. The endovascular device may further include an actuator configured to exert the actuation force on the proximal end of the control line, to thereby cause relative movement between the control line and the hollow shaft and to actuate the working element. The hollow shaft may also include a cable formed of a plurality of wound wires and including a proximal segment, at least one transition segment, and a distal segment. The proximal segment, at least one transition segment, and distal segment may include different numbers of wires.

Systems and methods for extending a guidewire from an insertion tool are disclosed. A guidewire assembly includes a slider configured to engage a guidewire carrier. The guidewire carrier defines a lumen configured to receive a guidewire therein. The guidewire carrier is biased to a non-linear, coiled resting state and can elastically transition to a linear extended state. As the guidewire assembly and slider are urged distally, the slider transitions the guidewire carrier from the non-linear state to the linear extended state. A distance travelled by the slider is less than a distance travelled by a tip of the guidewire as the guidewire carrier transitions from the coiled state to the linear state.

Apparatus, including a guidewire, having a distal end dimensioned to penetrate into a nasal sinus and a balloon, which is fitted over the guidewire in proximity to the distal end. There is an inflation channel, which runs along the guidewire and is coupled to convey a pressurized fluid into the balloon so as to inflate the balloon. The apparatus also includes a first electrode, fixedly attached to a distal tip of the guidewire, and a second electrode, fixedly attached to the guidewire at a location proximal to the distal tip. There are conductive leads running along the guidewire and coupled to apply an electrical potential between the first and second electrodes.

An elongated guidewire assembly has a distal segment configured to be selectively maneuvered, along an elongated Introducer assembly. The distal segment is configured to selectively transmit a tenting force from the elongated guidewire assembly to the first biological wall after the distal segment has contacted, at least in part, the first biological wall and the distal segment has been selectively protracted away from the distal introducer assembly.

Disclosed are example embodiments of a guidewire. The guidewire includes an elongated core with a proximal end, a distal end, and a length extending along a longitudinal axis therebetween, and a three-dimensional atraumatic tip disposed at the distal end of the elongated core. The three-dimensional atraumatic tip may include a spherical shaped coil of wire. The three-dimensional atraumatic tip may include an oblong shaped coil of wire. The three-dimensional atraumatic tip may include an umbrella shaped coil of wire.

A guide wire that includes a core shaft that is made of a first material, a coil that is provided to cover an outer periphery of the core shaft and is formed by twisting a first wire made of the first material and a plurality of second wires made of a second material different from the first material, and a distal end joint that joints a distal end of the core shaft and a distal end of the coil, and the distal end joint is made of the first material and is continuous from the distal end of the core shaft and the distal end of the first wire, and the distal end joint wraps the distal ends of the plurality of second wires.

A preformed guidewire particularly well-suited for use in percutaneous medical procedures, such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement, includes an inner corewire of discontinuous, tapered stiffness that is surrounded along a portion of its length by a flexible, outer casing of uniform cross-section, such as a tightly wound, stainless steel, spring coil wire. The inner corewire is constructed of a shape-memory material, such as a nickel-titanium alloy, that is preformed into an encircled S-shaped configuration in its atraumatic distal region. Specifically, the distal region includes an enlarged, stiffened, proximate segment that encircles a smaller, more flexible, distal segment. As a feature of the invention, the distal and proximal segments project along fixed-radial arcuate paths that extend in opposite directions from one another. As a result, the distal region is optimally configured to limit the risk of trauma to the immediate site of treatment when inserted through a straightened guide catheter.

Intraluminal and endovascular devices and methods of manufacturing intraluminal and endovascular devices may be provided. In one implementation, an intraluminal device may include a sheath having a flexible distal bending segment and a core wire arranged within the sheath. The core wire may include a distal end portion doubled back in a loop within the sheath such that the distal tip of the core wire is situated proximally from the loop. The intraluminal device may also include a movement restrictor within the sheath that is configured to limit axial movement of the distal tip of the core wire. Limiting the axial movement of the core wire distal tip may cause the loop of the core wire to buckle, resulting in a bend in the distal bending segment of the sheath, when a force is exerted on the core wire.