A method of manufacturing a guidewire having a discrete length. The method
includes the steps of feeding a first end of a corewire into an extrusion
device, gripping the first end of the corewire with a gripping apparatus,
and extruding a first extrusion material onto an outer surface of the
corewire while the gripping apparatus pulls the corewire through the
extrusion device to form an extrusion jacket on the outer surface of the
corewire. The corewire has a predetermined length corresponding to a
length of the guidewire.