Patent ID: 8187206

Claim:
A guide wire comprising: a member comprised of a core wire, said member possessing an outer surface; a bulge-forming layer arranged on the outer surface of the member; a coating layer covering the bulge-forming layer and the member at least in a region of the member at which the bulge-forming layer is arranged; said member, said bulge-forming layer and said coating layer defining a guide wire body, said guide wire body possessing an exterior surface, the bulge-forming layer resulting in spaced apart portions of the exterior surface of the guide wire body bulging outwardly relative to adjoining portions of the exterior surface of the guide wire body which are devoid of the bulge-forming layer and; wherein the bulge-forming layer is a color different from the member so as to enable endoscopic viewing by a user when the guide wire is internally disposed within a living body, the coating layer possessing transparency allowing a difference in color between the bulge-forming layer and the outer surface of the member to be visible through the coating layer so that the bulge-forming layer is a visible marker; wherein the coating layer is directly in contact with portions of the outer surface of the member which are devoid of the bulge-forming layer; and wherein the bulge-forming layer is comprised of a composite of a resin and a pigment.