US Patent 7141024 Maneuverable-coiled guidewire

Guidewire apparatus including a guidewire including a coil, a distal portion of the coil being coated with a flexible coating, the coating being thicker on one side of a perimeter of the distal portion than on an opposite side of the perimeter of the distal portion, a pull wire disposed inside the guidewire connected at a proximal end thereof to a first stop member and at a distal end thereof to a second stop member, and an actuator disposed on the guidewire adapted to move the pull wire proximally such that proximally-directed pulling on the distal portion of the coil bends the distal portion towards the opposite side of the perimeter of the distal portion.