Needle Assembly Including an Aligned Magnetic Element

A method of producing a magnetic element, comprising:

• providing an elongate bar of magnetic material;
• cutting the bar of magnetic material into a plurality of pieces including a first piece and a second piece, each of the first piece and the second piece cut substantially orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the elongate bar;
• rotating the first piece about 180 degrees with respect to the second piece;
• joining the rotated first piece with the second piece to form a magnetic element including a magnetic axis that is substantially aligned with the physical axis of the magnetic element.

A method for attaching a magnetic element to a needle holding component, comprising:

• determining an orientation of a magnetic axis of the magnetic element;
• marking the magnetic axis orientation on the magnetic element with a first orientation mark;
• and
• inserting the magnetic element into the needle holding component wherein:
• the first orientation mark substantially aligns with a second orientation mark included with the needle holding component, and
• the magnetic axis extends from the needle holding component in a desired direction.