A guidewire formed from a superelastic material has a proximal section and a distal section. In order to improve torque and pushability in the proximal section, a first wire is wound clockwise onto the proximal section to form a first coil and a second wire is wound counterclockwise onto the first coil to form a second coil.

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.

An insertion tool for inserting a catheter into a patient's body includes a housing in which at least a portion of the catheter is initially disposed, a hollow needle distally extending from the housing with the catheter pre-disposed over the needle, and a guidewire pre-disposed in the needle. The insertion tool can include a guidewire advancement assembly that can include a first finger pad for selectively advancing the guidewire distally past a distal end of the needle in preparation for distal advancement of the catheter. The insertion tool can further include a catheter advancement assembly that can include a second finger pad for selectively advancing the catheter into the patient. The first and second finger pads can be positioned such that a user can begin to advance the second finger pad after advancing the first finger pad without substantially re-positioning the thumb or finger of the user.

A guidewire for backloading and inserting a percutaneous pump affixed to a cannula includes a proximal section made of a first material, with a first diameter, a rounded proximal end, and a distal end. The guidewire also includes a distal section made of a second material, with a second diameter which is greater than the first diameter, a distal end, and a proximal end abutting the distal end of the proximal section. The first material of the proximal section is selected to be softer than a material of the percutaneous pump to reduce damage to the pump during backloading. The distal section of the guidewire is configured to be stiffer than the proximal section to insert the percutaneous pump in a desired location without damaging the guidewire.

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.

A steerable guide wire and/or a catheter device and associated method. The device includes a guide wire having a distal end, a hollow interior, and an anchoring mechanism positioned proximate to the distal end of the guide wire. The device further includes a core wire is slidably inserted into the hollow interior of the guide wire. Upon insertion, the core wire actuates the anchoring mechanism to anchor the guide wire at an anchoring location

A steerable guide wire and/or a catheter device and associated method. The device includes a guide wire having a distal end, a hollow interior, and an anchoring mechanism positioned proximate to the distal end of the guide wire. The device further includes a core wire is slidably inserted into the hollow interior of the guide wire. Upon insertion, the core wire actuates the anchoring mechanism to anchor the guide wire at an anchoring location.

A guidewire, which can be used with a surgical navigation system, is provided. An elongate tube body defines a tube lumen and has longitudinally spaced proximal and distal body ends. The tube body includes a first longitudinal biasing portion including at least one first-direction helical cut therealong. The tube body also includes a second longitudinal biasing portion, including at least one second-direction helical cut therealong. The first direction is radially opposite the first direction. A core wire is at least partially located inside the tube lumen and has longitudinally spaced proximal and distal core wire ends. A tracking sensor is located at least partially within the tube lumen.

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.