Catheter insertion apparatus with continuous visible flashback

1. A catheter insertion apparatus, comprising:

a needle including a needle body connected to a needle hub, the needle body having a longitudinal bore and a distal needle tip configured to pierce a wall of a blood vessel, and the needle hub having an internal flow passage in fluid communication with the longitudinal bore of the needle body;

a catheter configured to removably fit over the needle body, the catheter including a catheter body connected to a catheter hub;

a housing including an elongated housing body connected to the needle hub, the elongated housing body having a longitudinal guidewire track and an elongated lumen in fluid communication with the internal flow passage of the needle hub;

a guide assembly slidably mounted to the elongated housing body and including a guidewire having a distal guidewire tip, the guide assembly configured to cooperate with the guidewire track, and the guidewire operable to move between a retracted position in which the distal guidewire tip is located within the needle body and an extended position in which the distal guidewire tip is located outside of the needle body;

a continuous flashback chamber defined by the elongated lumen of the elongated housing body, the continuous flashback chamber configured to allow visualization of a continuous flow of blood during insertion of the distal needle tip into the blood vessel; and

a flow diverter having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the proximal end of the flow diverter is disposed within a distal end of the guidewire track and configured to restrict the continuous flow of blood from entering the guidewire track, and the distal end of the flow diverter is disposed in the needle hub and has a slanted surface configured to divert the continuous flow of blood from the internal flow passage of the needle hub into the continuous flashback chamber and away from the guidewire track.

2. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the continuous flashback chamber is operable to receive the continuous flow of blood during insertion of the distal needle tip into the blood vessel when the guidewire is in the retracted position, when the guidewire is in the extended position, and during movement of the guidewire between the retracted and extended positions.

3. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the guide assembly further comprises an actuator connected to a proximal end of the guidewire, the actuator being movable relative to the housing and the needle to correspondingly move the guidewire relative to the housing and the needle between the retracted and extended positions.

4. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the actuator includes a collar configured to slidably mount to the housing body.

5. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the actuator further includes a handle connected to the collar for manually sliding the collar along a longitudinal length of the housing body.

6. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the housing body further includes an annular band configured to abut the collar of the actuator when the guidewire is at the retracted position.

7. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the actuator further includes a slide member extending inwardly from the collar, the slide member having a neck portion and a head portion.

8. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the proximal end of the guidewire is connected to the head portion of the slide member.

9. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the longitudinal guidewire track is configured to slidably receive the head portion of the slide member.

10. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the housing body further comprises a longitudinal slot configured to slidably receive the neck portion of the slide member.

11. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the actuator further includes an indicator configured to line up with corresponding indicia disposed along the housing body to indicate a distance of guidewire movement into the blood vessel during an insertion procedure.

12. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the flow diverter includes a through-hole configured to slidably receive the guidewire.

13. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the flow diverter forms a seal with a portion of a distal end of the housing body that restricts the continuous flow of blood from leaking out of the housing.

14. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the housing body comprises a substantially crescent shaped cross-section.

15. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the housing body and the needle hub comprise a transparent material or a translucent material.

16. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a quick flashback chamber configured to allow visualization of an initial flow of blood upon insertion of the distal needle tip into the blood vessel.

17. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein the quick flashback chamber is defined between the needle body and the catheter body, and wherein the needle body includes a side port to direct the initial flow of blood into the quick flashback chamber.

18. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a vent plug connected to a proximal end of the housing body and configured to prevent blood leakage from the lumen of the housing body.

19. The catheter insertion apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the needle hub further comprises a safety guard configured to provide sharps protection to the distal needle tip.