Abstract: A monorail tip catheter includes a low friction guide wire lumen to facilitate removal of the catheter over the guide wire without buckling or kinking the guide wire. The catheter guide wire lumen is provided with a low friction lining with anchoring means, together with additional guide means to facilitate threading the guide wire into the monorail guide wire lumen.

Abstract: An intravascular ultrasonic imaging probe includes a transducer subassembly adapted to being rotated within a guide catheter via a drive cable. The guide catheter establishes a bearing surface for supporting the transducer subassembly during rotation while also mechanically isolating the rotating transducer subassembly from surrounding tissue (thereby protecting the tissue from inadvertent and/or undesired tissue abrasion by the subassembly during rotation). The catheter is positioned within a vessel to be imaged by telescopically advancing the same over a previously positioned guide wire, the guide wire being withdrawn after the guide catheter is positioned. Thereafter, the imaging probe is inserted into the guide catheter and operated so as to obtain ultrasonic images of the vessel under investigation.