Retractable needle assembly

• US 20030078540A1
• Filed: 10/23/2002
• Published: 04/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Becton, Dickinson & Co
• Original Assignee: Becton, Dickinson & Co
• Inventors: Niermann, Volker, Wilkinson, Bradley M., Saulenas, William G., Swenson, Kirk D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,294,118 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 604/110
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/3247 Means to impede repositioning of protection sleeve from needle covering to needle uncovering position
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0631 having means for fully covering the needle after its withdrawal, e.g. needle being withdrawn inside the handle or a cover being advanced over the needle
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0637 Butterfly or winged devices, e.g. for facilitating handling or for attachment to the skin
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/3257 Semi-automatic sleeve extension, i.e. in which triggering of the sleeve extension requires a deliberate action by the user, e.g. manual release of spring-biased extension means

Abstract

A fluid collection or infusion set is provided. The set includes flexible tubing with a fitting attached to a proximal end and a needle assembly attached to the distal end. The needle assembly includes a needle hub and a needle cannula secured in the hub. An actuator arm extends proximally and outwardly from the needle hub and has an actuator button at its free end. The needle assembly is disposed in a barrel and can move from a distal position where the needle cannula is exposed to a proximal position where the needle cannula is shielded. A spring is disposed in the barrel for propelling the needle assembly to the proximal position. The barrel includes an actuating aperture that receives the actuator button for locking the spring in a compressed condition. Depression of the actuator button enables the spring to propel the needle assembly into its proximal shielded position.

Claims

1. A retractable safety needle comprising:

a needle hub having proximal and distal ends and a passage extending between said ends;

a needle cannula having a proximal end, a distal end and a lumen extending therebetween, said proximal end of said needle cannula being securely mounted in said passage at said distal end of said needle hub;

a resiliently deflectable actuator arm extending from said needle hub, an actuator button being formed on said actuator arm and projecting outwardly relative to said needle hub;

a barrel having a proximal end, a distal end and a passage extending between said ends, said needle hub being disposed in said passage of said barrel such that said needle hub, said needle cannula and said actuator arm are moveable relative to said barrel from a distal position where said needle cannula projects distally beyond said barrel and a proximal position where said needle cannula is disposed entirely in said barrel, said barrel having an actuating opening extending therethrough, said actuator button projecting into said actuating opening and engaging portions of said barrel adjacent said actuating opening when said needle hub is in said distal position, said actuator button being resiliently deflectable out of engagement with said actuating open; and

a spring disposed in said barrel and adjacent said needle hub for propelling said needle hub to said proximal position when said actuator button is deflected out of said actuating aperture.

2. The retractable safety needle of claim 1, wherein said distal end of said needle cannula defines a substantially planar bevel, said bevel and said actuator arm being substantially symmetrical about a common plane.

3. The retractable safety needle of claim 2, wherein the bevel and the actuator button face toward a common side of said retractable safety needle.

4. The retractable safety needle of claim 1, wherein the actuator arm is unitarily formed with said needle hub.

5. The retractable safety needle of claim 4, wherein the actuator arm is cantilevered from the needle hub.

6. The retractable safety needle of claim 5, wherein the actuator arm has a base end unitary with said needle hub and a free end projected distally from said base end.

7. The retractable safety needle of claim 4, wherein the actuator arm is a first actuator arm, the retractable safety needle further comprising a second actuator arm mounted to said barrel and projecting into a position for engaging and deflecting said first actuator arm.

8. The retractable safety needle of claim 7, further comprising a pair of flexible wings mounted to said barrel and projecting transversely from said barrel, said wings defining a plane aligned substantially normal to a plane extending symmetrically through said first actuator arm, said second actuator arm being formed unitarily with said flexible wings.

9. The retractable safety needle of claim 1, further comprising a pair of flexible wings projecting transversely from said barrel and defining a plane aligned substantially normal to a plane extending symmetrically through said actuator arm.

10. The retractable safety needle of claim 1, further comprising means for preventing re-exposure of said needle cannula after movement of said needle cannula to said proximal position relative to said barrel.

11. The retractable needle assembly of claim 8, wherein said means for preventing re-exposure comprises a plurality of resiliently deflectable locking fingers projecting proximally and inwardly from said barrel, said fingers being configured to lockingly engage a distal face of said needle hub when said needle hub reaches said proximal position for preventing re-exposure of said needle cannula.

12. The retractable safety needle of claim 1, further comprising a length of flexible tubing connected to said proximal end of said needle hub.

13. The retractable safety needle of claim 1, wherein the actuating window is disposed in a cross-sectionally reduced portion of said barrel such that portions of said barrel proximally and distally of said actuating window project radial distances greater than said actuator button for substantially preventing inadvertent actuation.

14. The retractable safety needle of claim 1, further comprising a dampening material disposed in said barrel and surrounding at least portions of said spring and said needle hub for dampening movement of said barrel and said needle cannula during retraction, and thereby reducing splatter of material on said needle cannula.

15. The retractable safety needle of claim 14, wherein said spring comprises a plurality of substantially adjacent coils, said dampening material being selected for exhibiting a temporary elastic bond between adjacent coils of said spring for providing a slow initial acceleration of said needle hub after deflecting said actuator button out of said actuating aperture.

16. The retractable safety needle of claim 15, wherein said dampening material is a thixotropic gel.

17. A fluid collection/infusion set, comprising:

a length of flexible tubing having opposite proximal and distal ends;

a needle hub having opposite proximal and distal ends and a passage extending between said ends, said distal end of said tubing being securely engaged in proximal portions of said passage of said needle hub such that said passage through said needle hub communicates with said passage through said tubing;

a first resiliently deflectable actuator arm having a base end unitary with said needle hub and a free end cantilevered from said base end, said first actuator arm extending distally and outwardly relative to said base end such that said free end of said first actuator arm is resiliently deflectable toward and away from said needle hub, said first actuator arm being formed with an outwardly projecting actuator button substantially adjacent said free end;

a needle cannula having a proximal end and a beveled distal end, said proximal end of said needle cannula being mounted in distal portions of said passage through said needle hub, said needle cannula being oriented such that a common plane bisects both said bevel and said actuator arm;

a barrel having proximal and distal ends and a passage extending therebetween, at least a portion of said needle hub being slidably movable in said barrel from a distal position where said needle cannula projects distally beyond said barrel and a proximal position where said needle cannula is disposed entirely within said barrel, an actuating window formed through said barrel at a location for receiving said actuator button when said needle hub is in said distal position;

a second resiliently deflectable actuator arm mounted to said barrel and disposed for resiliently deflecting into said actuator button for deflecting said actuator button away from said actuating window; and

a spring having opposite proximal and distal ends, said spring being telescoped over said needle cannula and engaging a distal face on said needle hub, said distal end of said spring engaging a proximal face on said barrel adjacent said distal end of said barrel, said spring being in a collapsed condition when said needle hub is in said distal position, whereby deflection of said actuator arm disengages said actuator button from said actuating opening and permits said spring to propel said needle hub to said proximal position.

18. The fluid collection/infusion set of claim 17 further comprising a dampening gel in said barrel in substantially surrounding said spring and portions of said needle hub for dampening movement of said hub to said proximal position.

19. The fluid collection/infusion set of claim 18, wherein the dampening gel is a thixotropic gel.

20. The use of a thixotropic gel as a dampening agent for dampening a spring driven shielding of a needle cannula.