Patent ID: 7637875

Claim:
A guide wire comprising: a wire body having a tapered portion disposed on a distal end portion of the wire body, the tapered portion of the wire body possessing an outside diameter that is progressively reduced toward a distal end of the tapered portion; a coil comprising at least one helically formed wire, the at least one helically formed wire comprising a first coil portion covering an outer circumferential surface of said tapered portion and a second coil portion disposed adjacent to a proximal end of said first coil portion and covering an outer circumferential surface of a portion of said wire body which is closer to a proximal end of the wire body than said tapered portion; and wherein adjacent turns of the at least one wire of said first coil portion are in contact with each other, adjacent turns of the at least one wire of said second coil portion are in contact with each other, and initial tensile forces which push the adjacent turns of the at least one wire in the first coil portion against each other axially of the wire body in a free state are greater than the initial tensile forces in the second coil portion in the free state.