A system for advancing a needle through a vasculature to an injection site at the heart of a patient includes a guide catheter with a reflective distal tip. Also included is an imaging unit that is mounted on the catheter to radiate an energy field. Structurally, a distal portion of the catheter is biased to bend into a predetermined configuration that will position the distal end of the catheter for interception by the energy field. If necessary, coincidence of the reflective tip with the energy field is established by moving the energy field along the length of the guide catheter. With coincidence, the reflective tip reflects a signal that is useful for advancement of the needle 34b from the guide catheter and into the injection site.
