| Guidewires seem relatively simple considering they are just a long thin wire used to access hard to reach areas inside the body, but their material and lengths make them a very intricate device. They have only been around for about 70 years. The guidewire was invented by Sven Ivar Seldinger in 1953. He first used this procedure to obtain safe access to blood vessels and hollow organs. A guidewire does exactly what its name sounds like. It guides wires into the body to make way for catheters, endotracheal tubes, balloon catheters, drainage tubes, endoscopy equipment, and almost anything that needs to be pushed further in vitro (inside) of a patient that would normally not be able to get where it needs to go on its own, including, cardiovascular, circulatory, neurological, urological, gastrointestinal, and vascular systems. Without guidewires, some procedures that have small pathways and need to go deeper in the body would be nearly impossible!
Guidewires are usually between 0.014 in. and 0.038 in., outer diameter (OD), which is the circumference of the wire, and lengths are measured from tip to end in centimeters, ranging from 80cm. (33 in.) to 450 (177 in.) cm. They are typically made from Nitinol (nickel titanium) and Stainless Steel but can also include different metals for various performance attributes. Guidewires and their accessories are used for minimally invasive interventional procedures to navigate in vascular and other systems and access a desired position. Some of the procedures vary from angioplasties, thrombectomy, and even killing and removing tumors to gaining access to a vessel or hollow organs to examine, repair or cauterization them and more. |
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Hydromer®Coating Your Most Intricate DevicesBecause of the lengths of some of these guidewires being upwards of 15ft, they require attention to detail when it comes to coating them. They require steady process as they are coated, and an attentive eye to ensure they are fully coated from beginning to end and do not collect extra coating at the ends, which when dry can cause an accumulation of thick coating on the tip that can hinder your products ability to go into the patient as it should. At Hydromer® we not only extensively train every employee for each of your products, but we also ensure that quality testing is done on every batch, safeguarding your device from being rejected by your end user. |
Enhancing Guidewires – Medical Devices That Save Lives
in Apr 07, 2021
