A medical guidewire includes an electrically conductive core, a polymer tubing that encloses at least a portion of the electrically conductive core, and a trackable electromagnetic element formed in a distal end of the medical guidewire. The trackable electromagnetic element includes a coil. A first end of the coil is electrically coupled to an electrically conductive structure such as a metallic braid in the polymer tubing, and a second end of the coil is electrically coupled to the electrically conductive core.
