Disposable needle and hub assembly
View Patent ↗A needle assembly including a cover, an inner shield, a needle and a hub assembly is provided. After use, the cover is placed over the distal (patient) end of the needle and the inner shield can be used to cover the proximal (non-patient) end of the needle. The inner shield comprises flexible extensions above its open end to secure the inner shield over the proximal end of a needle in the needle assembly. A needle hub is also provided that eliminates adhesive bumps at the base of the needle and further distributes needle angular bending along an irregular surface, which facilitates proper insertion technique and effective needle length. The hub further includes stanchions or castellations on its edge such that when the patient uses proper injection techniques, the edges of the hub leave a distinctive impression in the skin of a user for a short period of time.
1. An injection needle for use in injecting a substance from a reservoir, comprising:
a hub having,
a distal end with a first protrusion having a skin engaging surface defined distally thereon,
an axial void in said hub having a channel defined at said distal end of said hub and extending through the hub, proximally away from said skin engaging surface,
a second protrusion having a distal face disposed on said hub substantially encircling said first protrusion, wherein the distal face of the protrusion is positioned co-planar or distal to the skin engaging surface,
a needle cannula having a sharpened distal end and a proximal end, said needle cannula being secured in said channel with said proximal end being in fluid communication with said reservoir and said distal end of said needle cannula extending from said skin engaging surface a pre-determined distance,
wherein said skin engaging surface limits penetration of said distal end of said needle cannula to a pre-determined layer of the skin of a patient, and
a third protrusion having a substantially concave proximal end and from which the proximal end of the needle cannula emerges.
2. The injection needle in claim 1 further comprising a needle shield which is slidably disposed upon said first or second protrusions.
3. The injection needle in claim 2 further comprising a needle shield slidably disposed upon said first protrusion.
4. The injection needle in claim 1 further comprising the hub having an open proximal end for receiving a medication delivery device.
5. The injection needle in claim 1 wherein the skin engaging surface is defined by the distal faces of a crenellated section of the first protrusion and said first protrusion has at least one radial void formed between the crenellated sections.
6. The injection needle in claim 5 wherein the crenellated section of the first protrusion forms a penetration indicator, thereby indicating a full penetration has occurred after the needle has been inserted into a patient's skin, the crenellated section leaves a residual visible mark in the skin.
7. The injection needle of claim 4 wherein the needle cannula has a sharpened proximal end for insertion into a cartridge within said medication delivery device.
8. The injection needle of claim 7 wherein the third protrusion is disposed within said open proximal end of the hub.
9. An injection needle for use in injecting a substance from a reservoir, comprising:
a hub having,
a distal end with a crenellated first protrusion as a skin engaging surface, wherein the skin engaging surface is defined by distal faces of the crenellated sections and said first protrusion has at least one radial void,
an axial void in said hub having a channel defined at said distal end of said hub and extending through the hub, proximally away from said skin engaging surface, wherein said at least one radial void is in fluid communication with the channel and said channel has a predefined volume,
a needle cannula having a sharpened distal end and a proximal end, said needle cannula positioned in said channel with said proximal end being in fluid communication with said reservoir and said distal end of said needle cannula extending from said skin engaging surface a pre-determined distance, wherein said skin engaging surface limits penetration of said distal end of said needle cannula to a pre-determined layer of the skin of a patient, and
an adhesive which secures the cannula in the channel by the filling the volume of the channel, wherein a volume of the adhesive is greater than the volume of the channel, such that an excess amount of the adhesive exits the channel through the at least one radial void, thereby keeping the skin engaging surface substantially free from adhesive.
10. The injection needle in claim 9 wherein the crenellated section of the first protrusion forms a penetration indicator, thereby indicating a full penetration has occurred after the needle has been inserted into a patient's skin, the crenellated section leaves a residual visible mark in the skin.
11. The injection needle in claim 9 further comprising a needle shield which is slidably disposed upon said first or second protrusions.
12. The injection needle in claim 9 further comprising a second protrusion having a distal face disposed on said hub substantially encircling said first protrusion, wherein the distal face of the protrusion is positioned co-planar or distal to the skin engaging surface.
13. The injection needle in claim 12 further comprising the hub having an open proximal end for receiving a medication delivery device.
14. The injection needle of claim 13 wherein the needle cannula has a sharpened proximal end for insertion into a cartridge.
15. The injection needle of claim 14 wherein the hub has a third protrusion having a substantially concave proximal end, the third protrusion disposed within said open proximal end of the hub and from which the sharpened proximal end of the needle cannula emerges.
16. A method of making an injection needle, comprising:
providing a hub having a distal end with a crenellated first protrusion as a skin engaging surface, wherein the skin engaging surface is defined by distal faces of the crenellated first protrusion and said crenellated first protrusion has at least one radial void, and a channel defined at said distal end of said hub and extending through the hub, proximally away from said skin engaging surface, wherein said at least one radial void is in fluid communication with said channel and said channel has a predefined volume,
inserting a needle cannula having a sharpened distal end and a proximal end into said channel,
positioning said needle cannula such that said distal end of said needle cannula extends from said skin engaging surface a pre-determined distance,
applying an adhesive which secures the cannula in the channel by filling the volume of the channel, wherein a volume of the adhesive is greater than the volume of the channel,
allowing an excess amount of the adhesive to exit the channel through the at least one radial void, thereby keeping the skin engaging surface substantially free from adhesive, and
curing the adhesive.
17. The method in claim 16 wherein the adhesive is a light-curable adhesive and the curing step further comprises applying light to the adhesive.
18. The method in claim 16 wherein the steps are performed in the order recited.
19. The method in claim 16 wherein the adhesive is applied to a surface of the cannula prior to insertion.
20. The method in claim 16 wherein the adhesive is applied to the channel.