A coil wire and method of using the coil wire to navigate blood vessels are provided. The coil wire is configured to facilitate coaxial catheter advancement over at least a part of the length of the coil wire. Existing catheters utilize the distal tip of a guidewire to select the vessel origins by shaping it (either during fabrication or by the operating physician) in such a way that the tip will point into the desired vessel as the wire is advanced. The coil wire of the present disclosure functions in a unique manner: its distal tip resumes a pre-formed three-dimensional coil configuration as it is expressed from the catheter. This shape catches the flow of moving blood and propels the coil wire forward while unfurling the coil. As the coil wire is advanced, the small outer diameter of the unfurled coil allows it to pass deep into the selected vessel.

A guide wire includes a core wire, a first resin layer that coats a part of the core wire, a coil body wound around another part of the core wire and an outer side of the first resin layer, and a second resin layer that coats the coil body, in which a part of the coil body is embedded in the first resin layer and the second resin layer.

A guide wire is disclosed, which is capable of reducing an unintended deviation in a guide wire position while preventing an occurrence of discomfort with respect to usability. The guide wire has a flexible core wire, and has a distal core portion, a main body portion, and a rigidity changing portion that gradually decreases in rigidity from the main body portion toward the distal core portion. The rigidity changing portion includes a first tapered portion continuous with a distal end of the main body portion, a second tapered portion continuous with a distal end of the first tapered portion, and a third tapered portion continuous with a proximal end of the distal core portion. A boundary portion between the first tapered portion and the second tapered portion is located in a range of 300 to 400 mm from a foremost distal end of the distal core portion.

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.

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.

The present disclosure relates to the field of endoscopy. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for anchoring guidewires within body passageways to provide efficient and accurate positioning and/or exchange of medical instruments to a target location. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an anchoring guidewire that includes a self-expanding coil for precise positioning and/or exchange of a biopsy tool within a bronchial passageway.

A guide wire configured for intravascular insertion includes a core wire having a flattened portion configured to allow the core wire to preferentially bend in at least one plane that passes through a longitudinal axis of the core wire. A distal most end of the flattened portion is spaced from a distal most end of the core wire. The guide wire may further include a sensor element configured to measure a physiological variable in a living body and a coil surrounding a portion of the core wire.

A catheter insertion device and method for insertion. The catheter insertion device can include a housing, a needle attached to a needle carrier, a catheter including a catheter shaft attached to a catheter hub, and a guidewire. The guidewire can include a coil tip positioned in a lumen of the needle. The method for insertion can include inserting a distal end of the needle and the catheter shaft into a blood vessel of a patient, advancing the coil tip out of the needle lumen and into the blood vessel, advancing the catheter over the guidewire, and withdrawing the guidewire and the needle from the catheter. The coil tip can include a straightened configuration and a coiled configuration. The coil tip can transition from the straightened configuration in the needle lumen to the coiled configuration in the blood vessel.

A catheter assembly is disclosed, which includes a catheter, a catheter hub, a guide wire, and a guide wire hub. The guide wire has a guide wire rigidity changing portion that gradually decreases in rigidity from a proximal side toward a distal side, and the catheter has a catheter rigidity changing portion that gradually decreases in rigidity from a proximal side toward a distal side. In the catheter assembly, the catheter hub and the guide wire hub are connected to each other in a state where the distal side of the guide wire is exposed from a distal end of a lumen of a shaft portion and a guide wire rigidity changing point and a catheter rigidity changing point are aligned with each other in an axial direction.

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.