Steerable guide wire for balloon dilatation procedure

A small diameter steerable guide wire comprising:

• a main wire having a distal region;
• a helically wound spring connected to the main wire at the distal region and receiving the distal region therein;
• said guide wire being constructed and arranged so that the portion thereof located proximally of the distal region of the main wire is of substantially uniform flexibility along its length;
• that portion of the guide wire which includes the distal region of the main wire and that portion of the helically wound spring which surrounds the distal region being of increasing flexibility in a distal direction
• the spring having a distal extension which extends beyond the distal end of the main wire, the distal extension being of substantially uniform flexibility along its length, said distal extension being the most flexible of all of said portions of the guide wire;
• the main wire and spring having substantially the same outer diameter, said diameter being no greater than about 0.020 inches;
• that portion of the guide wire which includes the distal region of the main wire being adapted to be bent to a set curved configuration but being sufficiently flexible from said set curved configuration so as to adapt to and follow the contours of a patient's blood vessel;
• the guide wire having means sufficiently torsionally rigid along its length for transmitting to the distal end of the guide wire substantially all of the angular rotation applied to the proximal end of the guide wire thereby enabling said guide wire with a set curved configuration at its distal region to be controllably directed to selected branches of a patient's vascular system.

A small diameter steerable guide wire having a proximal end and a distal end comprising:

• a main wire having a distal region which is tapered toward the distal end of the wire;
• a helically wound spring at the distal region of the main wire, the tapered portion of the main wire being received within the spring, the spring having a proximal end secured to the main wire at a proximal connection adjacent to the region where the main wire begins to taper;
• the distal end of the main wire being secured to the spring at a location distal of said proximal connection;
• each of said main wire and spring having an outer diameter which is no greater than about 0.020 inches, the diameter of the spring being not substantially greater than the diameter of the main wire;
• the distal end of the guide wire being adapted to be bent to a set curved configuration and to retain that set curved configuration when relaxed, said distal end being sufficiently flexible so as to adapt to and follow the contours of a patient's blood vessel;
• the guide wire having means sufficiently torsionally rigid along its length for transmitting to the distal end of the guide wire substantially all of the angular rotation applied to the proximal end of the guide wire thereby enabling said guide wire with prebent distal end to be controllably directed to selected branches of a patient's vascular system.

A steerable small diameter guide wire having a proximal end and a distal end comprising:

• a main wire having a proximal end and a distal region;
• a helically wound spring connected to the distal region of the main wire, the length of the spring comprising a relatively short portion of the overall length of the guide wire and the main wire comprising the major portion of the overall length of the guide wire;
• the spring being formed at least in part from a material having a high radiopacity;
• each of said main wire and spring having a maximum diameter which does not exceed 0.020 inches;
• the distal end of the guide wire being constructed to be bendable to a set curved configuration and to retain that set curve when relaxed, said bendable distal end being sufficiently flexible so as to adapt to and follow the contours of a patient's blood vessel;
• the guide wire having means sufficiently torsionally rigid along its length for transmitting to the distal end of the guide wire substantially all of the angular rotation applied to the proximal end of the guide wire thereby enabling the guide wire with prebent distal end to be controllably directed to selected branches of a patient's vascular system.

A steerable small diameter guide wire having a proximal end and a distal end comprising:

• a main wire having a proximal end and a distal region;
• a helically wound spring connected to the distal region of the main wire, the length of the spring comprising a relatively short portion of the overall length of the guide wire and the main wire comprising the major portion of the overall length of the guide wire;
• each of said main wire and spring having a maximum diameter which does not exceed 0.020 inches;
• the distal end of the guide wire being constructed to be bendable to a set curved configuration and to retain that set curve when relaxed, said bendable distal end being sufficiently flexible so as to adapt to and follow the contours of a patient's blood vessel;
• the guide wire having means sufficiently torsionally rigid along its length for transmitting to the distal end of the guide wire substantially all of the angular rotation applied to the proximal end of the guide wire thereby enabling the guide wire with prebent distal end to be controllably directed to selected branches of the vascular system.