GUIDE WIRE DISPENSER APPARATUS AND METHOD

摘要

A storage and dispensing apparatus for a springy guide wire used in medical procedures includes a coiled tubular portion defined by elongate tubing with a bore for receiving the guide wire. A ring section includes a tangential portion of the tubing defining an open end from which the guide wire may be dispensed. Adjacent to the tangential portion, the tubing defines a pair of spaced apart openings from which the guide wire respectively exits and reenters the tubing. Intermediate the pair of openings the tubing defines a curved external surface across which the guide wire runs externally of the tubing and is manually accessible for advancing and retracting movements impelled by a user's thumb, for example. The guide wire defines a pair of gentle S-shaped bends adjacent to the ends of the externally-exposed curved section, which bends cause the guide wire to engage sufficiently with the storage and dispensing apparatus to resist self-ejection.