A catheter includes a hollow shaft having a tip part decreasing in diameter in a direction of a distal end, and a coil body covering the hollow shaft. The tip part has a small diameter portion, a large diameter portion, and a tapered portion gradually increasing in diameter from the small diameter portion toward the large diameter portion. The coil body has a substantially cylindrical joint part at which an end portion of the coil body in the direction of the distal end is joined in the circumferential direction. The joint part is located over the tapered portion and/or the small diameter portion, and in a state in which the hollow shaft extends substantially linearly, the distance between an inner peripheral surface of the joint part and outer peripheral surfaces of the tapered portion and/or the small diameter portion increases in the direction of the distal end.

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.

A guide wire includes a core shaft formed of superelastic metal, where the core shaft has a tapered portion having a diameter decreasing from its proximal end toward its distal end, an intermediate portion that is cylindrical and is adjacent to the proximal end of the tapered portion, and a proximal portion adjacent to a proximal end of the intermediate portion and having a maximum diameter larger than a diameter of the intermediate portion; a coil body covering at least a part of the intermediate portion and the tapered portion of the core shaft, the coil body having an outer diameter of 0.36 mm or less; and a distal tip disposed at a distal end of the coil body and forming a distal end of the guide wire, the diameter of the intermediate portion being 0.22 to 0.24 mm.

A guide wire includes: a first core shaft made of a superelastic material, and a second core shaft made of a material more plastically deformable than the first core shaft and is joined to a distal end portion of the first core shaft. On the distal end portion to which the second core shaft is joined in the first core shaft, breaking elongation attributed to a tensile load is shorter compared to portions on a proximal end side with respect to the distal end portion.

Disclosed herein are guidewires including a distal section, a proximal section and a middle section disposed between the distal section and the proximal section, wherein the middle section has a flexural stiffness that is greater than a flexural stiffness of both of the distal section and the proximal section. The distal section is configured for insertion into a vasculature of a patient. A diameter of the middle section may be greater than a diameter of the distal section. The guidewires may include a tapered distal transition portion disposed between the distal section and the middle section and a solid core wire extending a length of the guidewire, the solid core wire including a first diameter extending along the distal section, a second diameter extending along the proximal section, and a third diameter extending along the middle section, wherein the third diameter is greater than the first and second diameters.

Disclosed is a minimally invasive miniaturized percutaneous mechanical circulatory support system. The system may be placed across the aortic valve via a single femoral arterial access point. The system includes a low profile axial rotary blood pump carried by the distal end of a catheter. The system can be percutaneously inserted through the femoral artery and positioned across the aortic valve into the left ventricle. The device actively unloads the left ventricle by pumping blood from the left ventricle into the ascending aorta and systemic circulation. A magnetic drive and encased motor housing allows for purgeless operation for extended periods of time to treat various ailments, for example more than six hours as acute therapy for cardiogenic shock.

Disclosed is a mechanical circulatory support system for transcatheter delivery to the heart, having a removable guidewire aid to assist with inserting the guidewire along a path that avoids a rotating impeller. The system may comprise a catheter shaft and a circulatory support device carried by the shaft. The device may comprise a tubular housing, an impeller and the guidewire aid. The guidewire aid may include a removable guidewire guide tube. The guide tube may enter a first guidewire port of the tubular housing, exit the tubular housing via a second guidewire port on a side wall of the tubular housing on a distal side of the impeller, enter a third guidewire port on a proximal side of the impeller, and extend proximally through the catheter shaft.

A guidewire kit including a guidewire with a shaft having a curved steering section and including a straightener bounding a lumen for straightening at least the curved deflection section of the guidewire extending into the lumen for insertion of the tip and the curved deflection section of the guidewire into a needle inserted into a vessel of a patient. The straightener is of a length of at least 8 cm for obtaining an improved and more reliable steering effect of the curved steering section.

A guidewire for guidance of a catheter or of a catheter introducer sheath into a human patient. The guidewire has, when in untensioned condition, a curved deflection section at its distal end and a shaft with one or more curved steering sections proximal of a straight section proximally neighboring the deflection section. This facilitates steering a guidewire to a predetermined location inside the patient.

The disclosure relates to medical devices and methods of assembling medical devices, such as MRI-compatible interventional wireguides. An example of a wireguide includes a series of individual segments, a plurality of connectors, and a plurality of spacers. Each segment in the series of individual segments has a first end and a second end. Each connector of the plurality of connectors joins adjacent segments in the series of individual segments to one another such that a first end of a first segment and a second end of a second segment in the series of individual segments are attached to a connector of the plurality of connectors. A spacer of the plurality of spacers is disposed between each pair of adjacent segments in the series of individual segments. Each of the segments in the series of individual segments is electrically insulated from an adjacent segment in the series of individual segments.