Patent ID: 8591563

Claim:
An elongate medical device for use with a wire guide having a distal end, the elongate medical device comprising a coextruded shaft extending between a distal end and a proximal end, and an eccentrically located lumen extending through at least a portion of the shaft, the lumen comprising a coupling region extending between a distal opening and a proximal opening, the coupling region being configured to receive the wire guide extending there through, wherein the coextruded shaft comprises a unitary cross-section having a first material defining a first cross-sectional area and a second material dissimilar from the first material defining a second cross-sectional area, the first material being more splittable than the second material, the first cross-sectional area being disposed between and contiguous with at least a portion of the lumen and a first portion of an exterior surface of the shaft along at least a portion of the coupling region, the second cross-sectional area being contiguous with a second portion of the exterior surface, wherein the first material is splittable along an intermediate pathway of the first cross-sectional area that is spaced apart from an interface between the first material and the second material dissimilar from the first material, the intermediate pathway having no structural discontinuities for facilitating splitting there along and in advancement of being split, and wherein the first material is splittable along the intermediate pathway by an outwardly directed force of the wire guide disposed within the lumen as the wire guide is pulled out of and away from the shaft of the elongate medical device.