Abstract: An exchange guidewire for positioning and exchanging medical catheters within a bodily passage during a medical procedure which uses an endoscope. The guidewire includes a wire of a length sufficient for exchange of the catheters through the endoscope, a radiopaque flexible coil fixed to the distal end of the wire, and a pattern of stripes endoscopically discernable along the guidewire. Optionally, a shrink-wrap, low-friction sleeve jackets the guidewire, the pattern of indicia being endoscopically discernable along the length of the jacketed guidewire. The position of the exchange guidewire indicia relative to the endoscope optical lens may be monitored by viewing the stripes endoscopically. A method of positioning and exchanging medical catheters within a bodily passage during a medical procedure which uses an endoscope is also disclosed.

Abstract: An integrated catheter assembly for enabling diverse in situ therapies includes a catheter with an irrigation fluid lumen, a distal tip portion that acts as a hemostat and a needle for injection therapy that extends through the catheter lumen and a lumen in the distal tip portion. A needle hub structure carries the catheter and provides a sealing entrance for a needle that can be displaced between extended and retracted positions. The needle and electrodes are electrically isolated. The apparatus provides a physician the options of irrigating tissue, cauterizing tissue or injecting tissue without the need for removing the apparatus from the working channel of an endoscope.