Medical needle assemblies

A shieldable, single-use needle assembly for administering a unit dose of a vaccine comprising:

• (a) a sleeve including a tubular wall defining an internal sleeve opening extending between a proximal end and an opposed distal end, said sleeve including a guide slot extending through the tubular wall into the internal sleeve opening, said guide slot including a longitudinal extent extending longitudinally along the sleeve, a proximal limit extent disposed at a first end of the guide slot adjacent said proximal end of said tubular wall and a distal limit extent disposed at a second end of the guide slot adjacent said distal end of said tubular wall, said proximal and distal limit extents extending along a circumferential surface of the tubular wall;
• (b) a base including a tab disposed on an outer surface thereof, said base slidably engaged in said internal sleeve opening with said tab extending through said guide slot, said base including a handle extension extending beyond the proximal end of the sleeve;
• and
• (c) a unit dose needle having a base end attached to the base and an opposed prong end configured to hold a unit dose of a vaccine;
• wherein the shield is slidably movable about the needle assembly between a first position in which the needle extends from the distal end of the sleeve and a second position in which the needle is contained within the internal sleeve opening, the tab and the guide slot providing for guiding action through the guide slot between the proximal limit extent and the distal limit extent, thereby causing the shield to move about the needle assembly between the first position and the second position.

A shieldable single-use needle assembly for administering a unit dose of a vaccine comprising:

• (a) a unit dose needle having a prong end configured to hold a unit dose of a vaccine;
• (b) a hub attached to the unit dose needle opposite the prong end, the hub including a tapered luer;
• (c) a base including a tab disposed on an outer surface thereof, said base threadably attached to the tapered luer of the hub;
• and
• (d) a hollow sleeve extending about said base, said sleeve including a tubular wall extending between a proximal end and an opposed distal end and defining an internal sleeve opening, said sleeve including a guide slot extending through the tubular wall into the internal sleeve opening, said guide slot including a longitudinal extent extending longitudinally along the sleeve, a proximal limit extent disposed at a first end of the guide slot adjacent said proximal end of said tubular wall and a distal limit extent disposed at a second end of the guide slot adjacent said distal end of said tubular wall, said proximal and distal limit extents extending along a circumferential surface of the tubular wall;
• wherein said tab extends through and beyond said guide slot such that movement of the tab through the guide slot between the proximal limit extent and the distal limit extent provides a guiding action that enables an extension and a retraction movement of the needle between an extended position with the needle extending from the distal end of the sleeve and a retracted position with the needle contained within the internal sleeve opening, and wherein the proximal and distal limit extents fix the position of the needle between the extended position and the retracted position.

A shieldable needle assembly for administering a unit dose of a vaccine comprising:

• a) a unit dose needle assembly comprising:
• i) a unit dose needle including a prong end configured to hold a unit dose of a vaccine, and
• ii) a hub fixedly attached to the unit dose needle opposite the prong end;
• and
• b) a shield assembly attached to said unit dose needle assembly, said shield assembly comprising:
• i) a sleeve including a tubular wall defining an internal sleeve opening extending between a proximal end and an opposed distal end, said sleeve including a guide slot extending through the tubular wall into the internal sleeve opening;
• and
• ii) a base including a tab disposed on an outer surface thereof, said base contained within said internal sleeve opening with said tab extending through and beyond said guide slot;
• wherein the hub of the unit dose needle assembly and the base of the shield assembly include corresponding structure for attachment therebetween, and wherein the sleeve and the base are movable with respect to each other, thereby enabling an extension and a retraction movement of the needle between an extended position with the needle extending from the distal end of the sleeve and a retracted position with the needle contained within the internal sleeve opening.

A shieldable, single-use needle assembly for administering a unit dose of a vaccine comprising:

• (a) a base;
• (b) a unit dose needle having a base end attached to the base and an opposed prong end configured to hold a unit dose of a vaccine;
• (c) a sleeve including a tubular wall defining an internal sleeve opening extending between a proximal end and an opposed distal end, said sleeve axially coacting with said base between a prong exposed position and a prong encapsulated position;
• and
• (d) a guiding element interengaged between said sleeve and said base providing limited axial movement of said sleeve with respect to said base.

A shieldable, single-use needle assembly for administering a unit dose of a vaccine comprising:

• (a) a base;
• (b) a unit dose needle having an axis, a base end attached to the base and an opposed prong end configured to hold a unit dose of a vaccine;
• (c) a tip guard slidable along said unit dose needle axis from a first position adjacent said base to a second position encapsulating said unit dose needle prong end;
• and
• (d) a tether element having a base end integral with said base, a guard end integral with said tip guard, a hinge between said base end and said guard end, a forward member delimited by said guard end and said hinge flexibly pivotable with respect to said guard, a rearward end delimited by said base end and said hinge flexibly pivotable with respect to said base, and an angle between said forward and rearward members wherein forward movement of said hinge enlarges said angle and provides direct forward movement of said guard with respect to said base.