US Patent 7207981 Multi-exchange catheter guide member with improved seal

A catheter and a guidewire exchange system includes a catheter and a guide member. The catheter includes a lumen extending through the shaft and sized to receive the guidewire, and a longitudinal guideway enabling transverse access from the shaft exterior surface to the lumen. The guide member includes a housing, a catheter passageway extending through the housing and adapted to slidably receive the catheter, a guidewire passageway extending from one end of the housing into the catheter passageway and including a tube adapted to merge the guidewire transversely through the guideway and into the first lumen, a rigid nose cone attached to the housing and having an aperture extending therethrough that is continuous with the catheter passageway and adapted to slidably receive the catheter, and a first gasket positioned in line with the catheter passageway and tightenable to impede catheter movement through the catheter passageway.