Appeal No. 1999-1959 Page 5
Application No. 08/881,586
skill in the art at the time of appellants’ invention “to
replace the radiopaque coil of De Toledo with a plastic
impregnated radiopaque segment in the device of De Toledo in
order to simplify the manufacturing process” (answer, page 4).
Appellants (brief, pages 9-11) argue that Miyano
discloses two ways to provide radiopacity to a guide wire, one
of which, like that of De Toledo, involves providing a
radiopaque member at the distal end of the core wire and the
other of which involves covering the entire length of a core 2
with a layer 4 having contrast characteristics. Thus,
according to appellants, to make the distal tip of the guide
wire more radiopaque than the proximal portion thereof, Miyano
teaches one to fix a radiopaque member to the distal tip of
the core. Appellants contend that neither De Toledo nor
Miyano provides any teaching or suggestion for providing a
distal plastic jacket portion that has enhanced radiopaque
properties relative to the proximal jacket portion, as recited
in the claims.
We appreciate that Miyano discloses, as the second
alternative, providing a plastic layer having radiopaque
materials mixed therein such that “the position of the overall
body of the guide wire 1 introduced into the blood vessel can
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