Patent ID: 7553287

Claim:
A method for manufacturing a medical device, comprising the steps of: providing a core member having a proximal region, a distal region, and a tapered region between the proximal region and the distal region; disposing a polymer jacket over the distal region of the core member, the polymer jacket having a substantially smooth outer surface; winding a coil over the polymer jacket distal of the tapered region, wherein the coil is wound under tension over the polymer jacket; and heating the polymer jacket so that the coil moves inward into the polymer jacket, relieving tension within the coil and wicking a portion of the polymer jacket between adjacent windings of the coil, providing an outer surface of the polymer jacket relative to the coil in the medical device that has desirable flexibility characteristics; wherein the medical device, in a final manufactured form, includes an outermost surface having a helical ridge extending around a circumference of the outermost surface formed at least in part by a length of the coil wound over the polymer jacket distal of the tapered region.