Guidewire

• US 6,383,146 B1
• Filed: 03/29/2000
• Issued: 05/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cook Medical Technologies, LLC (Cook Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cook Incorporated (Cook Group Incorporated), William Cook Europe ApS (Cook Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: Klint, Henrik Sønderskov
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaver, Kevin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wingood, Pamela S
• Application Number:
  US09/538,066
• Time in Patent Office: 769 Days
• Field of Search: 600/433, 600/434, 600/435, 600/585, 604/523, 604/531
• US Class Current: 600/585
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/09066 having a coil without a core possibly combined with a sheath
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/09191 made of twisted wires
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/09 Guide wires

Abstract

A guidewire comprising a distal end (2), a shaft portion (4) and a proximal end (3), wherein the shaft portion comprises a single helically wound, ribbon-shaped wire (7) having a pitch angle (α) in the range of 35° to 76°, and said helical wound wire preferably has a smaller total outer diameter at the distal end than at its proximal end.

Claims

1. A guidewire comprising a distal end member and a shaft portion extending in a longitudinal direction from a proximal end towards the distal end member, and a single helical wound wire extending from a position at the shaft portion to the distal end member, characterized in that the single helical wound wire is ribbon-shaped, and has windings that are in mutual abutment and have a pitch angle in the range of 35°

to 74°

.

2. A guidewire according to claim 1, characterized in that the pitch angle is in the range of 50°

to 68°

.

3. A guidewire according to claim 1, characterized in that along a distance of at least 10 cm from the distal end member said ribbon-shaped wire is the primary or the sole torque-transferring means between the shaft portion and the distal end member.

4. A guidewire according to claim 1, characterized in that at least in the most distal 10 cm of the guidewire is without a torque-transferring solid metallic core inside said ribbon-shaped wire.

5. A guidewire according to claim 1, characterized in that the ribbon-shaped wire has a smaller outer diameter at the distal end than at said position on the shaft portion.

6. A guidewire according to claim 1, characterized in that said ribbon-shaped wire has windings abutting other windings of itself along a guidewire length at least in the range of 20-50 cm from the distal end.

7. A guidewire according to claim 6, characterized in that said ribbon-shaped wire extends to a position at the proximal end of the guidewire.

8. A guidewire according to claim 7, characterized in that the guidewire is without a solid or hollow metallic core inside the ribbon-shaped wire.

9. A guidewire according to claim 8, characterized in that the radial thickness of the ribbon-shaped wire is larger in the proximal portion of the guidewire than in the distal portion.

10. A guidewire according to claim 1, characterized in that the guidewire is assembled of two or more segments having different outer diameters.

11. A guidewire according to claim 5, characterized in that the ribbon-shaped wire has a thickness adjacent the distal end that is less than its thickness remote from the distal end.

12. A guidewire according to claim 11, characterized in that outwardly facing portions of the guidewire have been ground away to reduce the outer diameter of the guidewire along the distal portion.

13. A guidewire according to claim 1, characterized in that edges of the ribbon-shaped wire are rounded.

15. A guidewire according to claim 1, characterized in that the windings have a pitch angle in the range of 40°

to 70°

.

14. A guidewire according to clam 1, characterized in that the windings have a pitch angle in the range of 35°

to 70°

.