US5938623A — Guide wire with adjustable stiffness

Claim 1

Independent Claim 157 words

A guide wire for use in a medical procedure and for use with a power supply comprising a solid core wire having proximal and distal extremities, the proximal extremity having a predetermined diameter, at least a portion of the distal extremity having a reduced size with respect to the predetermined diameter, a flexible coil secured to the distal extremity of the core wire and extending over the portion of the core wire having a reduced size, an actuator member disposed proximal of the coil and extending along the core wire, electrical conductive means extending from the proximal extremity of the core wire and to the actuator member for supplying heat to the actuator member, said actuator member being formed of a temperature activated metal alloy having a Young's modulus of 4×10 6 to 14×10 6 psi which increases in stiffness when heat is supplied thereto to increase the stiffness of the guide wire proximally of the coil.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 157 words

A guide wire for use in a medical procedure and for use with a power supply comprising a solid core wire having proximal and distal extremities, the proximal extremity having a predetermined diameter, at least a portion of the distal extremity having a reduced size with respect to the predetermined diameter, a flexible coil secured to the distal extremity of the core wire and extending over the portion of the core wire having a reduced size, an actuator member disposed proximal of the coil and extending along the core wire, electrical conductive means extending from the proximal extremity of the core wire and to the actuator member for supplying heat to the actuator member, said actuator member being formed of a temperature activated metal alloy having a Young's modulus of 4×10 6 to 14×10 6 psi which increases in stiffness when heat is supplied thereto to increase the stiffness of the guide wire proximally of the coil.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 23 words

A guide wire as in claim 1 wherein said actuator member is in the form of a cylindrical tube encircling the core wire.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 21 words

A guide wire as in claim 1 wherein said electrical conductive means is connected to opposite ends of the cylindrical tube.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 17 words

A guide wire as in claim 1 wherein said temperature activated metal alloy is a binary alloy.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 14 words

A guide wire as in claim 4 wherein said binary alloy is Alloy BB.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 50 words

A guide wire as in claim 1 further including an additional actuator member disposed within the coil and extending longitudinally of the core wire and means carried by the core wire for electrically connecting the additional actuator member to the power supply from the proximal extremity of the guide wire.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 21 words

A guide wire as in claim 6 wherein said additional actuator member is formed of a shape memory nickel titanium alloy.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 18 words

A guide wire as in claim 7 wherein said shape memory nickel titanium alloy is a ternary alloy.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 14 words

A guide wire as in claim 8 wherein said ternary alloy is Alloy K.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 19 words

A guide wire as in claim 6 wherein said first named and additional actuator members are connected in series.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 19 words

A guide wire as in claim 6 wherein said first named and additional actuator members are connected in parallel.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 36 words

A guide wire as in claim 1 wherein said core wire serves as one conductor and wherein the other conductor is provided by a conductive layer formed on the core wire exterior of the core wire.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 83 words

A guide wire as in claim 1 wherein said power supply is an AC power supply and wherein said means connecting the distal extremity of the core wire to the distal extremity of the coil provides a thermocouple generating a DC current when electrical energy is supplied to the actuator member to heat the same and further including means filtering the DC voltage generated by the thermocouple from the AC power supply to provide a voltage representative of the temperature of the thermocouple.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 72 words

A guide wire as in claim 6 wherein said additional actuator member has proximal and distal extremities and wherein said additional actuator member is formed so that it has a decreasing mass in a direction extending from the proximal extremity to the distal extremity to provide a guide wire in which the bend location in the second actuator member can be adjusted by adjusting the current flow through the additional actuator member.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 179 words

A guide wire having a distal extremity with an adjustable support characteristic comprising a core wire having proximal and distal extremities, said distal extremity having a reduced cross sectional area to provide a distal extremity which is more flexible than the proximal extremity, means forming a tip secured to the distal extremity of the core wire, a superelastic sleeve of temperature activated metal alloy coaxially disposed on the distal extremity of the core wire, said superelastic sleeve being annealed so it is relatively flexible at a temperature ranging from 20° to 40° C. and becomes progressively stiffer as temperature increases, conductive means carried by the core wire for conducting electrical energy to the superelastic sleeve for supplying heat to the sleeve and extending from the proximal extremity of the core wire to the sleeve to cause the sleeve to become stiffer to thereby increase the stiffness of the distal extremity of the guide wire whereby a guide wire is provided having a distal extremity with an adjustable support characteristic which varies from a floppy characteristic to a stiff characteristic.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 179 words

A guide wire having a distal extremity with an adjustable support characteristic comprising a core wire having proximal and distal extremities, said distal extremity having a reduced cross sectional area to provide a distal extremity which is more flexible than the proximal extremity, means forming a tip secured to the distal extremity of the core wire, a superelastic sleeve of temperature activated metal alloy coaxially disposed on the distal extremity of the core wire, said superelastic sleeve being annealed so it is relatively flexible at a temperature ranging from 20° to 40° C. and becomes progressively stiffer as temperature increases, conductive means carried by the core wire for conducting electrical energy to the superelastic sleeve for supplying heat to the sleeve and extending from the proximal extremity of the core wire to the sleeve to cause the sleeve to become stiffer to thereby increase the stiffness of the distal extremity of the guide wire whereby a guide wire is provided having a distal extremity with an adjustable support characteristic which varies from a floppy characteristic to a stiff characteristic.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 17 words

A guide wire as in claim 15 wherein said temperature activated metal alloy is a nickel-titanium alloy.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 72 words

A guide wire as in claim 15 wherein said means for supplying electrical energy to the superelastic sleeve consists of a layer of conductive material insulated from the core wire extending from the proximal extremity of the core wire to the sleeve and making electrical contact with the proximal extremity of the sleeve and means for establishing an electrical connection between the distal extremity of the superelastic sleeve and the core wire.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 170 words

A guide wire for use in a medical procedure for use with a power supply comprising a core wire having proximal and distal extremities, the proximal extremity having a predetermined diameter and at least a portion of the distal extremity having reduced diameter with respect to said predetermined diameter, a coil secured to the distal extremity of the core wire, an actuator member having proximal and distal extremities disposed within the coil, electrical means carried by the core wire and connected between the proximal and distal extremities of the actuator member, said actuator member being formed so that it has a decreasing mass extending from the proximal extremity to the distal extremity, said actuator member being formed of a shape memory alloy and having a predetermined shape memory causing it to bend when electrical energy is supplied thereto, said actuator member having a decreasing mass in a direction from the proximal extremity to the distal extremity so that as electrical energy is supplied thereto the position of the bend changes.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 170 words

A guide wire for use in a medical procedure for use with a power supply comprising a core wire having proximal and distal extremities, the proximal extremity having a predetermined diameter and at least a portion of the distal extremity having reduced diameter with respect to said predetermined diameter, a coil secured to the distal extremity of the core wire, an actuator member having proximal and distal extremities disposed within the coil, electrical means carried by the core wire and connected between the proximal and distal extremities of the actuator member, said actuator member being formed so that it has a decreasing mass extending from the proximal extremity to the distal extremity, said actuator member being formed of a shape memory alloy and having a predetermined shape memory causing it to bend when electrical energy is supplied thereto, said actuator member having a decreasing mass in a direction from the proximal extremity to the distal extremity so that as electrical energy is supplied thereto the position of the bend changes.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 15 words

A guide wire as in claim 18 wherein said actuator member is rectangular in plan.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 15 words

A guide wire as in claim 18 wherein said actuator member is triangular in plan.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 17 words

A guide wire as in claim 18 wherein said actuator member is formed of a ternary alloy.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 14 words

A guide wire as in claim 21 wherein said ternary alloy is Alloy K.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2002-08-16	2003-02-15	2003-08-17	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2006-08-16	2007-02-15	2007-08-17	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2010-08-16	2011-02-15	2011-08-17	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Guide wire with adjustable stiffness

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