A guidewire system comprises a guidewire supporting a distal ferrule in the proximal end of a guidewire lumen. The distal ferrule has a ferrule opening that is sized to snuggly receive the proximal end of a distal optical fiber with a distal portion of the distal optical fiber extending into the guidewire lumen. However, the proximal end of the distal optical fiber only occupies a distal portion of the opening in the distal ferrule, leaving a proximal portion of that opening unoccupied. That way, the distal end of a proximal optical fiber can be received into the unoccupied proximal portion of the opening in the distal ferrule to optically connect to the distal optical fiber. Having the proximal and distal optical fibers coaxially aligned in a common opening in a ferrule received in a guidewire ensures that the optical fibers are optically connected to each other in a precise manner so that light can be transmitted along them with minimal losses.
