‘Navig’8’ is Brivant’s 0.014” coronary guidewire. Among the unique designs of the Navig’8 guidewire are the following:

• Tapered Shaping Ribbon
  The distal portion of the core incorporates a tapered section from the round central core into the flat portion.
  
  The shaping ribbon has been heat treated to provide for easy J shaping combined with optimum shape retention and torque transmission.

Coronary Guidewire

• Stiffness Profiles
  The Olympian guide wires have a range of stiffness options varying from Extra-Floppy to Standard Extra-Support. The stiffness profiles for the distal 25cm are shown below.

Variation in stiffness profiles of the Brivant PTCA range

The stiffness profile of Guidant’s BMW and Boston Scientifics PT2 LS guide wire were also tested. The Brivant guide wire gives the smoothest transition of stiffness over the distal 25cm. The abrupt increase in stiffness for the BMW guide wire may hinder its navigational properties.

Comparison in stiffness profiles of a Brivant Floppy X-Support guide wire and other common guide wires.

• Core Body Properties

Distal Tip Profile.

Scanning Electron Microscope image of the distal tip joint showing the hemispherical joint bonding the coil to the core and providing an atraumatic surface at the leading edge.

• Guidewire Advancement Test
  The force required to advance the distal portion of a guide wire through a tortuous anatomy was conducted. The Guide Wire was passed through a water filled tube wrapped over a 15mm mandrel.

The force required to push the Brivant Floppy X-Support guide wire through the polymer tubing is less than that for the BMW guide wire.

The peak in the Guidant product corresponds to the peak in the stiffness profile graph.

Force required to advance a guide wire 80mm through the polymer tubing.

• Coating
  Brivant offers either a hydrophilic or a hydrophobic coating on the distal coiled portion of the guide wire. The hydrophilic coating is a globular based coating, as shown in the images below. As a result of its globular nature, the hydrophilic coating does not cause any swelling that may cause binding of the guide wire with the balloon catheter. Nor is there any film thickening that can delaminate upon movement within the introducer needle.

Deposits of Brivant Hydrophilic Coating

Conventional Film Coating that may tear / swell.

• Radiopacity
  Brivant guide wires use a 3cm long wound platinum alloy coil at its distal tip. This ensures excellent radiopacity under fluoroscopy as can be seen in the grey scale comparison with competitor’s wires below.

Competitor	Brivant