Safety shield for medical needles

Abstract

A medical needle shield apparatus is provided which includes an extensible shield having a first segment and a second segment extending therefrom. The second segment includes an opening configured for clearance of a medical needle of a medical needle device during attachment of the extensible shield to the medical needle device. The second segment defines a planar surface adjacent a distal portion thereof. The planar surface is configured to engage the needle for disposing the shield in an extended position. In alternate embodiment, the medical needle shield apparatus has a syringe having a needle hub supporting a needle. The first segment articulates from a collar disposed about the needle hub. The collar includes a pair of latches. The opening is configured for travel about the needle to facilitate extension of the shield from a retracted position to an extended position. The second segment further includes a proximal fulcrum that engages the needle to facilitate extension of the shield. The second segment also has a pair of catches. The catches are engageable with the latches to maintain the shield in the retracted position. The second segment has a nose portion defining a planar surface configured to engage the needle to facilitate fixing the shield in the extended position.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.