A catheter assembly for insertion into the brain. The assembly comprises a first length of tubing made of a first material. A second material surrounds the first length of tubing, the second material being more flexible than the first material and having a hardness of less than 50 Rockwell E. The second material provides damping to the first length of tubing.

A guide wire is disclosed, the guide wire including a flexible wire main body, a coil that is intermediately disposed in a longitudinal direction of the wire main body in an outer periphery of the wire main body, and a support portion that supports at least one of a distal end and a proximal end of the coil so as to be rotatable around a central axis O of the wire main body. In a natural state where an external force is not supplied to the guide wire, the support portion supports in a state where an inner peripheral portion of the coil and an outer peripheral portion of the wire main body are separated from each other.

A wire member that exhibits an excellent sliding property is provided. A wire member 1 includes: a core member 2 that has an elongated shape; and a surface-disposed member 3 that is spirally disposed on a surface of the core member 2 so as to leave predetermined spaces along a longitudinal direction of the core member 2. In a cross-sectional view taken along the axis of the core member 2, the front end and the rear end of each of projections 3A formed by the surface-disposed member 3 respectively form contact angles 1, 2 each being 5 or greater relative to the surface of the core member 2.

Intravascular diagnosis apparatus and methods are disclosed. In one aspect of the disclosed technology, a monitoring guidewire includes a core wire having or made of one or more of MP35N, L605, Elgiloy, and an alloy of nickel, cobalt, molybdenum and chromium, a sensor disposed in a distal region of the core wire, and a housing substantially coextensive with the core wire and surrounding the core wire, the housing being more flexible than the core wire for at least the distal portion of the housing.

A medical assistance device is disclosed, which is capable of adjusting a use length of a medical device according to a procedure in a target biological lumen. The medical assistance device includes a support, a length adjustment unit which is rotatably provided about a support shaft with respect to the support and performs at least one of winding and unwinding of the medical device to adjust a use length of the medical device, an elongated body which is attached to the length adjustment unit and is connected to the medical device, and of which at least one of winding and unwinding is performed with respect to the length adjustment unit, and a connection section which is provided on an end portion of the elongated body and connects the end portion of the elongated body and an end portion of the medical device to each other.

Disclosed are intravascular devices having enhanced one-beam cut patterns. An elongated member includes a plurality of fenestrations that define a plurality of axially extending beams interspersed between a plurality of circumferentially extending rings. The beams are formed using a dual-pass cutting method in which a blade makes two, rotationally offset cutting passes at a given longitudinal location of the elongated member. The resulting beam has enhanced structure that avoids overly sharp edges and minimizes structural weak points.

Devices and methods for providing an elastically deforming guidewire tip, capable of withstanding the extreme forces of high-speed rotational atherectomy, in particular orbital motion induced by an eccentric abrasive head, are disclosed. In certain embodiments, the reformable tip comprises an inner nitinol support coil, wherein the reformable tip may be attached to a larger proximal core for improved kink resistance and support for delivering adjunctive devices. In other embodiments, an inner nitinol support coil may be wrapped with a braided coil and/or a polymer sleeve. The resulting tip is more flexible with reduced risk of perforation than known guidewire tips.

In various examples, a method of making a guidewire is described. The method includes placing a polymer jacket over a core wire. The core wire includes a first portion having a first profile and a second portion having a second profile. The first profile is smaller than the second profile. Heat is applied to the polymer jacket and the core wire to reflow the polymer jacket and fuse the polymer jacket to the core wire, wherein the polymer jacket forms a layer of substantially uniform thickness along a length of the core wire. In some examples, a guidewire made using the method is also described.

A guidewire includes a first wire with a first diameter. A second wire is coupled with the first wire and has a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter. A winding extends around the second wire to cover a portion of the second wire and leaves a remainder of the second wire uncovered.

A guidewire comprises a core shaft, a coil body covering a distal end portion of the core shaft, and a coating agent covering an outer periphery of the coil body, wherein the coil body includes a distal coil body disposed on a distal side of the coil body, and a proximal coil body disposed on a proximal side of the distal coil body, a surface roughness of the proximal coil body is higher than a surface roughness of the distal coil body.