Guide wire advancer assembly

1. A guide wire advancer assembly comprising:

a guide wire;

a guide wire storage tube in which said guide wire is at least partially disposed; and

an advancer body comprising a longitudinal axis which is co-linear with said guide wire, wherein the body comprises:

a first portion adapted to allow a user to advance a guide wire along the longitudinal axis using a finger and a thumb to directly engage the guide wire, with the first portion at least supporting the guide wire at two axially spaced locations while permitting access between the two axially spaced locations to the guide wire for guide wire advancement; and

a second portion having a longitudinally extending guide wire platform spaced from the first portion and along which the guide wire is exposed and which is adapted to allow a user to advance the guide wire along the longitudinal axis using one of the finger or the thumb to engage the guide wire, said guide wire being urgeable by said finger or thumb along the longitudinal axis when being pressed by said finger or thumb against the platform.

2. The guide wire advancer assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the first portion and the second portion are relatively rotatable about the longitudinal axis.

3. The guide wire advancer according to claim 1 , wherein a more distal of the first and second portions concludes in a distal tip adapted to cooperate with an introducer to enable the guide wire to directly enter the introducer and then into a patient when advanced.

4. The guide wire advancer according to claim 1 , wherein the distal tip is frustoconical.

5. The guide wire advancer assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the first portion is disposed distally of the second portion.

6. The guide wire advancer assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the first portion comprises:

a distal portion having a first passageway extending longitudinally therethrough;

a proximal portion having a second passageway extending longitudinally therethrough; and

a central portion having first and second connecting members extending between the distal portion and the proximal portion, wherein the first and second connecting members define an opening therebetween.

7. The guide wire advancer assembly according to claim 6 , wherein the first passageway is adapted to frictionally engage the guide wire.

8. The guide wire advancer assembly according to claim 6 , wherein the first and second members are arcuate.

9. The guide wire advancer assembly according to claim 6 , wherein the opening is sufficiently large to enable the finger and the thumb to grasp the guide wire extending through the opening and advance the guide wire along the first and second passageways.

10. The guide wire advancer assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the second portion comprises a distal portion having a first passageway extending longitudinally therethrough, a proximal portion having a second passageway extending longitudinally therethrough, and wherein the platform is elongated and connects the proximal portion and the distal portion and is disposed on one side of the longitudinal axis.

11. The guide wire advancer according to claim 10 , wherein the platform includes a raised convex portion having a shallow cutout thereacross aligned with the longitudinal axis in which the guide wire is disposed such that the guide wire protrudes slightly above the cutout.

12. The guide wire advancer according to claim 10 , wherein the platform includes a smooth upwardly facing platform surface.