guide wire

Abstract

This invention provides a guidewire that can be used with a surgical navigation system. An elongated tube defines a lumen and has longitudinally spaced proximal and distal body ends. The tube includes a first longitudinally biased portion, which includes at least one helical cut along it in a first direction. The tube also includes a second longitudinally biased portion, which includes at least one helical cut along it in a second direction. The first direction is radially opposite to the first direction. A core wire is at least partially located within the lumen and has longitudinally spaced proximal and distal core wire ends. A tracking sensor is at least partially located within the lumen.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 108,587, filed December 1, 2020, which in turn claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 62 / 971651, filed February 7, 2020. The contents of each of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for using a surgical navigation system, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for a guidewire capable of providing an indication of its position in space to the surgical navigation system. Background Technology

[0004] To be performed as needed, the interventional guidewires used in minimally invasive surgery should be designed with mechanical properties that provide the operator with the effective ability to control the device to navigate to the intended target without damaging the anatomical structures traversed. In the mechanical design process, a balance often needs to be struck between opposing goals.

[0005] For example, a guidewire may need to exhibit both flexibility (the ability to bend along its longitudinal axis) and torque capability (the ability to transmit rotational forces) to navigate tortuous blood vessels without damage. However, achieving one aspect of the mechanical design may compromise others. Furthermore, flexibility may need to vary with the length of the device. Existing guidewire designs can use coils or braids surrounding the core wire to achieve the desired mechanical properties for navigation. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In one aspect, a guidewire is provided. An elongated tubular body defines a lumen and has longitudinally spaced proximal and distal body ends. The tubular body includes a first longitudinally biased portion, the first longitudinally biased portion including at least one helical cut along it in a first direction. The tubular body also includes a second longitudinally biased portion, the second longitudinally biased portion including at least one helical cut along it in a second direction. The first direction is radially opposite to the first direction. A core wire is at least partially located inside the lumen and has longitudinally spaced proximal and distal core wire ends. A tracking sensor is at least partially located within the lumen.

[0007] In one aspect, a surgical navigation system is provided. A guidewire includes an elongated tube defining a lumen and having longitudinally spaced proximal and distal body ends. The tube includes a first longitudinally biased portion including at least one helical incision in a first direction therein. The tube also includes a second longitudinally biased portion including at least one helical incision in a second direction therein. The first direction is radially opposite to the first direction. The guidewire includes a core wire at least partially located within the lumen and having longitudinally spaced proximal and distal core wire ends. The guidewire includes a tracking sensor at least partially located within the lumen and configured to provide a sensor signal. A communication device is electrically coupled to the tracking sensor to receive the sensor signal. The surgical navigation system is configured to generate one or more output visualizations in a user-perceptible format. Attached Figure Description

[0008] For a better understanding, please refer to the attached diagram, in which:

[0009] Figure 1 This is a side view of an example aspect of the present invention;

[0010] Figure 1A It is along Figure 1 A schematic cross-sectional view of the line “1A-1A”;

[0011] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic side view of the components;

[0012] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A partial cross-sectional side view of region "3";

[0013] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 A partial side view of a component;

[0014] Figure 4A It is along Figure 4 A schematic cross-sectional view of the line “4A-4A”;

[0015] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 A partial cross-sectional side view of region "5";

[0016] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 A schematic cross-sectional side view of region "6"; and

[0017] Figure 7 It includes Figure 1 A schematic drawing of the system. Detailed Implementation

[0018] Figure 1 A guidewire 100 device is depicted. The guidewire 100 includes an elongated tube 102 defining a lumen 104 and having longitudinally spaced proximal body end 106 and distal body end 108, respectively. The tube 102 may be made of stainless steel, polymer, nitinol, any other suitable material, or any combination thereof.

[0019] The core wire 110 may be located at least partially inside the lumen 104, such as Figure 1A As shown. The core wire 110 has longitudinally spaced proximal core wire ends 112 and distal core wire ends 114. The core wire 110 may be made of stainless steel, polymer, nitinol, any other suitable material, or any combination thereof.

[0020] The outer coil 116 may at least partially surround the tube body 102 adjacent to the distal tube end 108, again as Figure 1A As shown. The outer coil 116 may be made of stainless steel, polymer, nitinol, any other suitable material, or any combination thereof. The outer coil 116 may be fixed to the tube body 102, such as by adhesive, welding, friction fit, etc.

[0021] like Figure 2 As shown, the tube body 102 includes a first longitudinally biased portion 118 having at least one helical cut along it in a first direction and a second longitudinally biased portion 120 having at least one helical cut along it in a second direction. The first direction is radially opposite to the first direction. That is, the "chirality" or "directionality" of the rotation of the helical cut is opposite with respect to the first and second directions, which is referred to herein as "radially opposite". In some cases, this concept of "chirality" is also called "chirality".

[0022] Depending on the specific application environment, as many or as few first longitudinal bias portions 118 and second longitudinal bias portions 120 as possible may be provided to and positioned along the tube body 102. The first longitudinal bias portions 118 and second longitudinal bias portions 120, regardless of their number and / or configuration, may be formed from a single integral tube blank and / or assembled from a set of individual sub-assemblies. Providing the first longitudinal bias portions 118 and second longitudinal bias portions 120 helps at least one of the flexibility and torque capacity of the guide wire 100. When different numbers of first longitudinal bias portions 118 and second longitudinal bias portions 120 are provided to a single guide wire 100, the guide wire 100 will be biased to turn in a specific direction, which may be desirable in some application environments. The first longitudinal bias portions 118 and second longitudinal bias portions 120 may be longitudinally spaced relative to each other, or may be cut substantially continuously along the tube body 102.

[0023] like Figure 2As shown, the transition longitudinal portion 122 can be longitudinally inserted between selected longitudinal offset portions (which can be adjacent longitudinal offset portions) in the first longitudinal offset portion 118 and the second longitudinal offset portion 120, and the transition longitudinal portion does not include the helical cut along it. Depending on the needs of a particular application environment, the first longitudinal offset portion 118, the second longitudinal offset portion 120, and the transition longitudinal portion 122 can have any desired length and can be located anywhere along the tube body 102. The spacing between the first longitudinal offset portion 118 and the second longitudinal offset portion 120 can vary within the same first longitudinal offset portion 118 and / or the second longitudinal offset portion 120 or between different first longitudinal offset portions 118 and / or the second longitudinal offset portion 120—to provide more (closer spacing / shorter span between adjacent turns) or less (looser pitch / longer span between adjacent turns) flexibility to the guidewire 100.

[0024] Turning Figure 3 At least one electronic component 324 may be located at least partially within the lumen 104. The electronic component 324 may be a sensor (for physical characteristics, including but not limited to position, temperature, and pressure), an electromagnetic coil sensor, a transducer or other signal generating device (such as, but not limited to, an RF or Bluetooth transceiver), any other type of electronic component, or any combination thereof. In one example, one or more electronic components 324 are electromagnetic sensors (e.g., sensor coils) configured to sense multiple degrees of freedom (DOF) in response to an electromagnetic field, such as a field generator from the Aurora electromagnetic tracking system of Northern Digital Inc., commercially available in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. DOF sensing electronic components 324—whether the sensor itself determines its position in space or the sensor provides an electrical signal to an external processor to determine the sensor's position—are referred to herein as "tracking sensors." In an example, electronic component 324 is a 5 or 6 DOF tracking sensor that includes a conductive coil that provides an electrical signal (e.g., current) in response to an electromagnetic field from a field generator.

[0025] Each electronic component 324, when present, can be mounted along the core wire 110 to a predetermined mounting area 426, such as... Figure 4 As shown. The intended installation area 426 may be a portion of the core wire 110 with a reduced diameter and / or at least partially flat, such as... Figure 4AA cross-sectional schematic diagram is shown. For example, if the electronic component 324 is to be glued or otherwise secured to the core wire 110, a “platform” portion 428 (i.e., “flat”) having a relatively flat surface of the core wire 110 can facilitate adhesion compared to placing the substantially planar electronic component 324 tangential to the curved outer circumference of the core wire 110. One or more predetermined mounting areas 426, including any desired number of flat platform portions 428, can be located at any desired location along the core wire 110 and can, but not necessarily, be radially aligned with any other predetermined mounting area around the circumference of the core wire 110. In some usage environments, the electronic component 324 may be temporarily or permanently absent from the selected predetermined mounting area 426, or for different embodiments of the guidewire 100, the selected electronic component 324 may be placed in different predetermined mounting areas 426. In other instances, the electronic component 324 may be mounted at other locations within the lumen 104, such as mounted to the inner sidewall of the body 102 or mounted between the core wire 110 and the body.

[0026] like Figure 5-6 As shown, at least one signal line 628 (two are shown) can be provided for transmitting communication and / or power signals to and / or from the electronic component 324. Each signal line 628 has a distal signal line portion electrically coupled to the electronic component 324, and a proximal signal line portion 530 located adjacent to the proximal core wire end 112. The proximal signal line portion 530 includes a U-shaped connecting portion 632 having portions that are both laterally located inside and outside the lumen 104. The "lateral" direction is used herein to refer to the direction toward and away from the central axis of the longitudinal axis of the guidewire 100. The terminating end 634 of the proximal signal line portion 530 is attached to the outer surface of the tube body 102, as shown. Figure 6 As shown. The length of each signal line 628 may include a covering of insulating material (e.g., plastic or rubber-like polymer) along its length.

[0027] In other words, signal line 628 extends proximally from electronic component 324 in the space between core wire 110 and the inner wall of lumen 104. Signal line 628 can float freely in this annular space, or it can be connected to one or more adjacent structures (e.g., to the core wire or inner sidewall). In this example, signal line 628 is wound around the core wire, such as in a spiral or helical manner along its length. When the proximal signal line portion 530 reaches the proximal body end 106, signal line 628 "wraps" from lumen 104 into the surrounding space, causing the "hairpin structure" to rotate about the nearest side of the proximal body end 106, as... Figure 6 As shown.

[0028] The terminating end 634 of the proximal signal line portion 530 can then be compressed against the outer surface of the tube body 102 via the conductive collar 536. This compression can be a “crimping” designed to mechanically hold the proximal signal line portion 530 in place, or it can be more of an electrical connection than a mechanical one. The conductive collar 536 may extend around a portion or all of the circumference of the tube body 102 and may be at least partially made of copper, silver, steel, or any other desired conductive material; however, it is considered that for most operating environments, at least a portion of the conductive collar 536 will be conductive.

[0029] like Figure 5 As shown, multiple conductive collars 536 can be provided, each associated with a corresponding signal line 628 for signal communication. Any other nearby signal lines (such as those passing under the selected conductive collar 536 toward another conductive collar 536) can be insulated to prevent unintentional signal transmission to the selected conductive collar 536. For example, each signal line 628 may be without its insulating cover (e.g., by stripping) at its respective end for simultaneous electrical connection to both the electronic component 324 and the conductive collar 536.

[0030] In another example, electronic component 324 may include a wireless transmitter, receiver, or transceiver for communicating with external devices or systems. In this embodiment, at least one signal line may be omitted from the structure.

[0031] In another instance, such as Figure 6 As specifically shown, at least one insulating spacer 642 may be disposed between or adjacent to a single conductive collar 536. In addition to providing electrical isolation between adjacent conductive collars 536, the spacer may also present a substantially constant outer profile to the guidewire 100, rather than a stepped outer profile, due to the periodic presence of the larger diameter conductive collars 536. The insulating spacer 642, when present, may also help protect the area of ​​the proximal signal line portion 530 located outside the lumen 104. It is also contemplated that, depending on the needs of a particular operating environment, the outer surface of the guidewire 100 may include any desired coating (e.g., a lubricating coating) and / or an external sheath assembly.

[0032] Depending on the specific application environment, any desired seals, gaskets, connectors and / or other components may also be provided to the guidewire, and such seals, gaskets, connectors and / or other components can be readily provided by those skilled in the art, taking into account factors such as durability, affordability, sterilizability, ease of manufacture and / or any other desired factors or combinations thereof.

[0033] For any desired reason and with any desired configuration, the conductive collar 536 is configured to selectively transmit electrical signals between the proximal signal line portion 530 and the external guidewire control system, schematically shown at 638. For example, the system connector schematically shown at 640 can be used in a "slip ring" manner to allow the conductive collar 536 (and thus the rest of the guidewire 100) to rotate relative to the system connector 640. This slip ring operation helps to avoid loss of signal communication with the electronic component 324 during normal rotational movement encountered during guidewire 100 operation.

[0034] For example, system connector 640 provides an interface for electrically connecting signal line 628 to an external device. In the instance where the component is a sensor, the external device may include a circuitry configured to amplify and digitize signals from the sensor. The amplified and digitized signals can be transmitted from the device to a control unit configured to process the signals according to application requirements. In one example, the control unit is configured to calculate the position and orientation of the coil sensor based on signals induced in the coil sensor from an electromagnetic field generator, and to provide the calculated data to a computer for further processing. In other instances, signal processing and analysis of a different type may be implemented by external electronic devices and computing systems.

[0035] Figure 7 This schematically illustrates what is described above and generally in... Figure 6 Example implementation scheme of the arrangement described in the text. Figure 7 middle, Figure 1-6 The guidewire 100 is shown to have been integrated into the surgical navigation system 744. Figure 7 In this diagram, an external communication device (which may be combined with and / or associated with the aforementioned external device, control unit, and / or guidewire control system 638) is schematically shown at 746. The external communication device communicates with electronic component 324. In one example, the communication device communicates wirelessly with at least one electronic component 324 (e.g., a tracking sensor), as indicated by the "lightning bolt" symbol. In another example, a ring connector 640, such as a slip ring, may also be used, or alternatively, to transmit any desired type of signal between the external communication device 746 and at least one electronic component 324 via a corresponding communication link, as described above. Figure 7 The dashed lines between them represent this. In other instances, communication between each electronic component 324 and the external communication device 746 may occur via a physical link (e.g., a conductive or optical link).

[0036] As another example, the implementation of navigation system 744 is similar to the navigation system disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0276002, which is incorporated herein by reference. For example, navigation system 744 includes a communication device 746 implemented as a tracking system, the tracking system including a field generator to provide an electromagnetic field. The tracking system is coupled to electronic components (e.g., tracking sensors) 324 via a communication link (e.g., a physical or wireless link) as described herein. In one example, tracking system 746 is electrically coupled to one or more conductive collars 536 of guide wire 100 to receive electrical signals (e.g., current) from the tracking sensor in response to the electromagnetic field generated by the field generator. In another example, the tracking system may provide a signal to the tracking sensor via a communication link, the signal generating a field sensed by the tracking system. Tracking system 746 is configured to determine the position and orientation of the tracking sensor in the three-dimensional coordinate system of the tracking system in response to the electrical signal from the tracking sensor.

[0037] The navigation system 744 can therefore generate one or more three-dimensional, user-perceptible virtual displays of the patient's anatomical geometry (e.g., including the geometry of the patient's vascular system, such as major vessels) and guidewire 100 in real time to facilitate intraoperative positioning of guidewire 100 relative to the patient's anatomy. Guidewire 100 will correspond to an instance of an object that is tracked and visualized on the display of the navigation system 746.

[0038] For example, guidewire 100 can be used in conjunction with a system to achieve intraoperative positioning, as disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0276002, which is incorporated above. Guidewire 100 may include electromagnetic components 324 (e.g., tracking sensors) for tracking the position and orientation of the sensors and guidewire in three-dimensional space and generating one or more output visualizations in a user-perceptible format in any desired manner.

[0039] In this example, the external communication device 746 may be electrically coupled to the tracking sensor (i.e., the electronic component 324) to receive sensor signals, and the surgical navigation system 744, in response to the sensor signals, generates a user-perceptible indication of at least one of the position and orientation of the tracking sensor.

[0040] As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may also include the plural forms. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and / or “comprising” as used herein may specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0041] As used herein, the term “and / or” can include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0042] As used herein, phrases and / or plot labels such as “XY,” “between X and Y,” and “between approximately X and Y” can be interpreted as including both X and Y.

[0043] As used in this article, phrases and / or drawing labels such as “between approximately X and Y” can mean “between approximately X and approximately Y”.

[0044] As used in this article, phrases and / or plot labels such as “from about X to Y” can mean “from about X to about Y”.

[0045] It should be understood that when an element is referred to as being "on" another element, "attached" to another element, "connected" to another element, "joined" with another element, "in contact" with another element, "adjacent" to another element, etc., it may be directly on, directly attached to, directly connected to, directly joined to, directly in contact with, or directly adjacent to the other element, or there may be intermediate elements. Conversely, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" another element, "directly attached" to, "directly connected" to, "directly joined" with, "directly in contact with," or "directly adjacent" to another element, there are no intermediate elements. Those skilled in the art should also understand that a structure or feature mentioned as being "directly adjacent" to another feature may have overlapping portions or be located below adjacent features, while a structure or feature mentioned as being "adjacent" to another feature may not have overlapping portions or be located below adjacent features.

[0046] For ease of description, this document may use spatial relative terms such as “below,” “under,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” “near,” and “farthest” to describe the relationship between one element or feature and another element or feature as shown in the figure. It should be understood that spatial relative terms may encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation than those depicted in the figure. For example, if the device in the figure is inverted, an element described as “below” or “under” other elements or features would be oriented “above” other elements or features.

[0047] As used herein, the phrase "at least one of X and Y" can be interpreted as including X, Y, or a combination of X and Y. For example, if an element is described as having at least one of X and Y, the element may include X, Y, or a combination of X and Y at a given time, and the choice may change from time to time. Conversely, the phrase "at least one of X" can be interpreted as including one or more X.

[0048] It should be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,” etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. Therefore, without departing from the teachings of this disclosure, the “first” element discussed below may also be referred to as the “second” element. Unless otherwise specifically indicated, the order of operations (or steps) is not limited to the order presented in the claims or drawings.

[0049] While various aspects of this disclosure have been specifically shown and described with reference to the foregoing examples, those skilled in the art will understand that various additional aspects may be considered. For example, the specific methods of using the equipment described above are merely illustrative; those skilled in the art can readily identify any number of tools, sequences of steps, or other means / options for placing the aforementioned equipment or its components in a location substantially similar to that shown and described herein. For the sake of clarity in the figures, one of the repeating components shown is not specifically numbered, but those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the numbered components, the element number should be associated with the unnumbered components; the mere presence or absence of element numbers in the figures does not imply any indistinguishability between similar components. Any of the described structures and components may be integrally formed as a single unit or monolithic piece or composed of individual sub-components, any of which involves any suitable blank or custom component and / or any suitable material or combination of materials; however, the materials chosen should be biocompatible for many applications. Any of the described structures and components may be disposable or reusable, depending on the needs of the specific use environment. User-perceptible markings can be provided for any component to indicate the material, configuration, at least one dimension, etc., associated with that component. These user-perceptible markings can potentially help a user select a component from an array of similar components for a specific usage environment. A “predetermined” state can be determined at any time before the manipulated structure actually reaches that state; “predetermined” occurs no later than just before the structure is about to reach the predetermined state. The term “substantially” is used herein to indicate a mass that is largely, but not necessarily entirely, specified—a “substantially” mass allows for the possibility of including some relatively small non-mass items. Although some components described herein are shown as having specific geometries, all structures of this disclosure can have any suitable shape, size, configuration, relative relationships, cross-sectional area, or any other physical property, depending on the needs of a particular application. Any structure or feature described with reference to one aspect or configuration can be provided alone or in combination with other structures or features to any other aspect or configuration, as it is impractical to describe every aspect and configuration discussed herein as having all the options discussed with respect to all other aspects and configurations. Any apparatus or method combining any of these features should be understood to fall within the scope of this disclosure as defined by the following claims and any equivalents.

[0050] Other aspects, objectives, and advantages can be obtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

Claims

1. A guidewire comprising: An elongated tube defining a lumen and having a longitudinally spaced proximal body end and a distal body end, the tube comprising: A first longitudinal offset portion, the first longitudinal offset portion including at least one helical cut along a first direction therein; The second longitudinal offset portion includes at least one helical cut along it in a second direction, the chirality of the rotation of the helical cut being opposite with respect to the first direction and the second direction; A core wire, which is at least partially located inside the lumen and has longitudinally spaced proximal and distal core wire ends; and A tracking sensor, which is at least partially located within the lumen.

2. The guide wire according to claim 1, wherein the tracking sensor is an electromagnetic coil sensor.

3. The guide wire according to claim 1, wherein the tracking sensor is mounted to a predetermined mounting area of ​​the core wire.

4. The guidewire of claim 1, wherein the tracking sensor is configured to provide a sensor signal representing the position and orientation of the tracking sensor and the guidewire in three-dimensional space.

5. The guidewire of claim 4, wherein the sensor signal is provided to a navigation system configured to generate one or more output visualizations in a user-perceptible format.

6. The guide wire according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined mounting area is a flat plateau portion of the core wire.

7. The guidewire of claim 1, wherein at least one signal line comprises a distal signal line portion electrically connected to the tracking sensor and a proximal signal line portion positioned adjacent to the end of the proximal core wire, the proximal signal line portion having a U-shaped connection portion having portions that are simultaneously transversely located inside and outside the lumen, and the terminating end of the proximal signal line portion being attached to the outer surface of the tube body.

8. The guidewire of claim 7, wherein the terminating end of the proximal signal line portion is compressed against the outer surface of the tube body by a conductive collar, the conductive collar being configured to selectively transmit electrical signals between the proximal signal line portion and the external guidewire control system.

9. The guidewire according to claim 1, wherein the first and second longitudinal bias portions are longitudinally spaced apart.

10. The guidewire of claim 9, comprising a transitional longitudinal portion longitudinally inserted between adjacent longitudinal bias portions in the first and second longitudinal bias portions, the transitional longitudinal portion not including a helical cut.

11. The guidewire of claim 1, comprising an outer coil surrounding the tube adjacent to the distal end of the body.

12. A surgical navigation system comprising: Guidewire, which includes An elongated tube defining a lumen and having a longitudinally spaced proximal body end and a distal body end, the tube comprising: A first longitudinal offset portion, the first longitudinal offset portion including at least one helical cut along a first direction therein; The second longitudinal offset portion includes at least one helical cut along it in a second direction, the chirality of the rotation of the helical cut being opposite with respect to the first and second directions. A core wire, which is at least partially located inside the lumen and has longitudinally spaced proximal and distal core wire ends, and A tracking sensor, which is at least partially located within the lumen and configured to provide a sensor signal; as well as A communication device electrically coupled to the tracking sensor to receive the sensor signal; The surgical navigation system is configured to generate one or more output visualizations in a user-aware format.

13. The surgical navigation system of claim 12, wherein the communication device includes a circuitry configured to amplify and / or digitize the sensor signals.

14. The surgical navigation system of claim 13, wherein amplified and / or digitized signals are transmitted from the communication device to a control unit, the control unit being configured to process the amplified and / or digitized signals according to application requirements.

15. The surgical navigation system of claim 12, wherein the communication device is configured to calculate data indicating the position and orientation of the tracking sensor in response to sensor signals sensed from an electromagnetic field generator in the tracking sensor, and to provide the calculated data to a computer for further processing.

16. The surgical navigation system of claim 12, wherein the external communication device is configured to generate in real time at least one three-dimensional user-perceptible virtual display of the patient's anatomical geometry and the guidewire in response to the sensor signals, to facilitate intraoperative positioning of the guidewire relative to the patient's anatomy.

17. The surgical navigation system of claim 12, wherein the external communication device is in wireless contact with the tracking sensor.

18. The surgical navigation system of claim 12, wherein at least one signal line includes a distal signal line portion electrically connected to the tracking sensor and a proximal signal line portion positioned adjacent to the end of the proximal core wire, the proximal signal line portion having a U-shaped connecting portion having portions that are simultaneously transversely located inside and outside the lumen, and the terminating end of the proximal signal line portion being attached to the outer surface of the tube body.

19. The surgical navigation system of claim 12, wherein the first and second longitudinal offset portions are longitudinally spaced apart.

20. The surgical navigation system of claim 19, comprising a transitional longitudinal portion longitudinally inserted between adjacent longitudinal offset portions in the first and second longitudinal offset portions, the transitional longitudinal portion not including a helical incision.

21. The surgical navigation system of claim 12, wherein at least one signal line includes a distal signal line portion electrically connected to the tracking sensor and a proximal signal line portion positioned adjacent to the end of the proximal core wire, the proximal signal line portion having a U-shaped connecting portion having portions that are simultaneously transversely located inside and outside the lumen, and the terminating end of the proximal signal line portion being attached to the outer surface of the tube body.

22. The surgical navigation system of claim 21, wherein the terminating end of the proximal signal line portion is compressed against the outer surface of the tube body by a conductive collar, the conductive collar being configured to selectively transmit electrical signals between the proximal signal line portion and the external guidewire control system.

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