Abstract: An endoscope guiding device has a main wire body made of nitinol memory wire to retain its shape after bending, a handle fixed to the proximal end of the wire body and, at the distal end a rounded tip and adjacent to the distal end a reduced diameter end portion and a transition zone leading from the reduced diameter end portion to the larger diameter of the main body portion of the wire body. The rounded tip, reduced diameter portion and the transition zone are formed by centerless grinding. The main wire body may have additional reduced stiffness, that is, reduced diameter, portions at any desired point along its length in addition to the reduced diameter portion adjacent to the distal end. The guiding device is inserted into an endoscope and stiffens the endoscope sufficiently to allow the endoscope to be guided, for example, through a colon or intestine readily.