Which item is primarily used to navigate vessels and deliver devices during PCI?

• A. Guide wire
• B. Manifold
• C. Extension tubing
• D. Blunt tip wire introducer

Answer: (A)

Navigating vessels and delivering devices during PCI relies on a guide wire as the primary navigation rail. This slender, steerable wire is advanced through the arterial access into the coronary artery and across the lesion, providing a stable track over which balloons, stents, and guiding catheters can be advanced and exchanged. The guide wire offers tactile feedback and control to cross difficult lesions while keeping access to the true lumen intact, which is essential for safe and effective device delivery. The other items serve roles in access or setup rather than providing the navigational path: a manifold is part of the irrigation/flush system, extension tubing connects components but doesn’t act as a rail, and a blunt tip wire introducer is used to gain access and introduce a wire, not to facilitate navigation and device delivery.