SSG Eliminates Guesswork for Surgeons Dual Color Coated Guidewires

The advent of PTFE-coated guidewire for medical applications began a revolution in the way surgeons perform many procedures. At the same time, it has necessitated the need for new and better fabrication of materials. Surgeons need to be able to assess the rotational position or torque of the guidewire they use. They need to know that the guidewire is moving as desired by the surgeon. With the normally green PTFE coating, this is very difficult as there are no reference marks on a guidewire.

Senior engineers from many medical fabrication companies have approached SSG with issues related to surgical needs and we have worked with them to develop solutions. The first challenge SSG was faced with was applying a pure PTFE white stripe to the length of a 175 mm guidewire. We produced a Visi MarkSM green guidewire with a white stripe that helps the surgeon by providing feedback with reference to “torquing” of the guidewire.

News of our white stripe success brought more inquiries. Customers expressed a need for a spiral pattern of contrasting colors. This “barber pole” was the next evolution in the Visi MarkSM process. SSG began to produce guidewires with a spiral pattern that transmits rotation information and lets the surgeon determine guidewire movement with accuracy.

The SSG team then went on to create guidewires with millimeter markings for measurement purposes. This allows surgeons to determine distances, length of balloon requirements, length of lesion or blockage, and more by having a millimeter pattern permanently bonded to the guidewire in a high-contrast color of pure PTFE. Once again, Visi MarkSM used no ink or paint, nor used coating removal to create contrasting color. Visi MarkSM markings are made of high color contrast, pure PTFE material.

SSG provides all engineering, material and Visi MarkSM patterns to suit our customers marking requirements. The medical grade PTFE coatings we apply to cannulas, single wire-strand and coiled construction guide wires are produced in green, blue, purple, grey, black, white and tan. Contrasting PTFE markings are available in white, black and other contrasting colors or to your custom color specifications.