RADIOPAQUE COMPOSITE WIRE FOR MEDICAL APPLICATIONS AND METHOD OF MAKING A RADIOPAQUE COMPOSITE WIRE

A radiopaque composite wire for medical applications comprises a core (102) comprising a rare earth metal, an outer layer (104) comprising a nickel-titanium alloy disposed over the core (102), and a diffusion barrier (106) comprising a barrier material between the core (102) and the outer layer (104). A method of making a radiopaque composite wire includes cold drawing a composite billet (200) through a die, where the composite billet includes a tube (204) comprising a nickel-titanium alloy disposed about a rod comprising a rare earth metal, and a barrier layer (206) comprising a barrier material disposed between the tube and the rod. After cold drawing, the composite billet (200) is annealed to relieve strain. After multiple passes of the cold drawing and annealing, a radiopaque composite wire having a core comprising the rare earth metal, an outer layer comprising the nickel-titanium alloy, and a diffusion barrier comprising the barrier material between the core and the outer layer is formed.