Patent ID: 7883474

Claim:
A guidewire suitable for guiding a catheter within a body lumen, comprising: an elongated, flexible core wire having a proximal section including a stainless steel alloy, a distal section including a stainless steel alloy, and a section intermediate the proximal section and the distal section including a super-elastic alloy; a tubular braid having a length and a wall thickness, the length of the tubular braid extending from a location proximal of the distal section of the core wire to a distal end of the distal section of the core wire, the tubular braid coaxially disposed about the core wire such that the maximum radial gap between the tubular braid and the core wire is less than the wall thickness of the tubular braid along the entire length of the tubular braid; and a distal coil disposed coaxially over the core wire.