Pull wire with coated fibers

A system for making a fiber wire having a fiber bundle core and a polymer jacket, comprising:

• (a) a spool of fiber bundle, wherein the fiber bundle comprises a plurality of continuous synthetic fiber filaments;
• (b) a support frame, wherein the support frame rotatably supports the spool about a first rotational axis;
• (c) a base structure, wherein the base structure rotatably supports the support frame about a second rotational axis, wherein the support frame and the base structure are operable to cooperate to rotate the spool about the first and second axes simultaneously to thereby unwind fiber bundle from the spool and simultaneously twist the unwound fiber bundle about a longitudinal axis of the unwound fiber bundle;
• and
• (d) a die positioned downstream of the spool, wherein the die is operable to apply a molten polymer coating to the twisted fiber bundle, wherein the molten polymer coating is configured to cool to define a jacket that encapsulates the twisted fiber bundle.

An apparatus, comprising:

• (a) a body;
• (b) a shaft assembly extending distally from the body, wherein the shaft assembly comprises:
• (i) a rigid proximal portion, and
• (ii) a flexible distal portion;
• and
• (c) a deflection actuation assembly comprising:
• (i) an actuator, and
• (ii) a wire having a proximal end coupled with the actuator and a distal end coupled with the shaft assembly, wherein the wire is flexible about its longitudinal axis and is configured to deflect the flexible distal portion relative to the rigid proximal portion in response to movement of the actuator, wherein the wire comprises:
• (A) a fiber bundle having a plurality of fiber filaments, wherein the fiber filaments are arranged helically about a longitudinal axis of the wire, and
• (B) a polymer jacket that encapsulates the fiber bundle.