Patent ID: 7722551

Claim:
A guide wire comprising: a first wire disposed on a distal side of said guide wire, said first wire being made from a reshapable and non-superelastic metal material, said first wire possessing a proximal tip and a distal end; said first wire being configured to be plastically deformed to a desired shape and maintained in the desired shape upon being bent in the desired shape by a user, the first wire not being a coil, the first wire possessing an outer diameter; and a second wire disposed on a proximal side from said first wire, said second wire being made from a pseudo-elastic alloy, said second wire possessing a distal tip, the second wire possessing an outer diameter; wherein the proximal tip of said first wire and the distal tip of said second wire are coaxial; wherein the first wire includes a proximal end face and the second wire includes a distal end face, the proximal end face of the first wire and the distal end face of the second wire abutting one another and being welded to one another to form a welded portion; and each of the outer diameters of said first wire and said second wire is gradually reduced in a direction toward the distal end of the first wire in a region extending from a position on the proximal side from the welded portion to a position on the distal side from said welded portion across said welded portion.