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FIG 1. Line diagrams of the liner, catheter, and guidewire combination.
A, The liner is a bag of highly porous, strong, stretchy fabric detachably mounted on the tip of a microcatheter. It has proximal and distal marker rings, allowing the passage of a guidewire. The catheter has an electrical contact close to its hub and a conducting wire incorporated into its braiding. The proximal marker ring is attached to the catheter tip marker ring by two thin stainless steel struts. It is detached by electrolysis of these struts.
B, The "ball" of the guidewire is too large to pass through the distal marker ring. When the guidewire is advanced in the catheter, the ball engages with the distal ring and stretches the liner into a long, thin configuration to facilitate endovascular navigation.
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