Abstract:
A needle shield for hiding a needle from a patient during an injection is disclosed. The needle shield comprises an attaching portion for attaching the needle shield to a syringe and an opaque collapsible element extending from the attaching portion, the collapsible element having an orifice extending therethrough and being of a sufficient length to conceal a needle from view when the needle is disposed in the orifice, and wherein the collapsible element collapses and conceals the needle as the needle is inserted into a patient&#39;s skin and expands to retain its original shape as the needle is withdrawn from the patient&#39;s skin so that the patient does not see the needle during an injection.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/164,661, filed Mar. 30, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a new and useful method and device for relieving the apprehension and anxiety associated with the sight of a needle piercing the skin during injections. More particularly, the present invention relates to a new and useful method and device for providing a shield to obscure the sight of a needle piercing one&#39;s skin/flesh during injections. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Needle sticks are a vital part of the practice of medicine. Needle sticks are used to perform routine diagnostic procedures, such as tests for cholesterol levels, infections, blood count, and blood type. Needle sticks are also used to give injections for treating various diseases and medical conditions, such as administering vaccines and antibiotics. Accordingly, an inability to receive needle sticks can pose a serious threat to an individual&#39;s health. 
         [0004]    Fear of needles, or Blenophobia, is known to increase the sense of pain during needle sticks. Many of the physical reactions associated with Blenophobia are initiated by watching the needle piercing the individual&#39;s skin. The fear associated with Blenophobia may result in such a fearful reaction to needles that an individual can no longer tolerate going anywhere near doctors&#39; offices. In fact, an estimated 20 million Americans a year avoid going to the doctor because of a fear of needle sticks. Avoiding medical visits can be quite dangerous for individuals experiencing symptoms that indicate conditions or diseases requiring medical attention. 
         [0005]    In addition, treatment regimens that require more frequent injections are more likely to be associated with Blenophobia. Such treatment regimens include those for multiple sclerosis (MS) and diabetes. And, unfortunately, the frequency of injections required by those treatment regimens also typically dictates that an individual self-inject. Such self-injections allow patients to reduce the risk of missed injections and to increase their independence from medical facilities. Thus, Blenophobia can prevent adherence to critical treatment regimens. Accordingly, there is a need for a new and useful method and device for relieving the apprehension and anxiety associated with the sight of a needle piercing the skin during injections. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    Accordingly, to solve at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below, a non-limiting object of the present invention is to provide a needle shield for hiding a needle from a patient during an injection comprising an attaching portion for attaching the needle shield to a syringe and an opaque collapsible element extending from the attaching portion, the collapsible element having an orifice extending therethrough and being of a sufficient length to conceal a needle from view when the needle is disposed in the orifice, and wherein the collapsible element collapses and conceals the needle as the needle is inserted into a patient&#39;s skin and expands to retain its original shape as the needle is withdrawn from the patient&#39;s skin so that the patient does not see the needle during an injection. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    Many aspects of the present invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings, which are part of the specification and represent preferred embodiments of the present invention. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the present invention. And, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is an orthogonal view illustrating a non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a needle shield according to the present invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is an orthogonal view illustrating the needle shield of  FIG. 1  installed on a syringe prior to inserting a needle into a patient&#39;s skin; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is an orthogonal view illustrating the needle shield of  FIG. 1  installed on a syringe with the needle fully inserted into a patient&#39;s skin; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is an orthogonal view illustrating another non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a needle shield according to the present invention, installed on a syringe prior to inserting a needle into a patient&#39;s skin; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is an orthogonal view illustrating yet another non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a needle shield according to the present invention, installed on a syringe prior to inserting a needle into a patient&#39;s skin; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is an orthogonal view illustrating the needle shield of  FIG. 5  installed on a syringe with the needle fully inserted into a patient&#39;s skin. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is an orthogonal view illustrating still yet another non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a needle shield according to the present invention, installed on a syringe prior to inserting a needle into a patient&#39;s skin; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is an orthogonal view illustrating the needle shield of  FIG. 8  installed on a syringe with the needle fully inserted into a patient&#39;s skin. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    Reference will now be made in detail to non-limiting embodiments of the present invention by way of reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, components, and structures. 
         [0017]    The present invention addresses at least the problems described above by providing a shield  100  that conceals the needle at the end of a syringe at all times during an injection. The non-limiting exemplary embodiment of the shield  100  illustrated in  FIG. 1  includes a cone-shaped needle-covering portion  102  that includes an orifice extending therethrough that is configured to receive a needle wholly therein. At the top of the needle-covering portion  102  is a substantially cylindrical attaching portion  104  that is configured to fit over the cylindrical base/hub  202  of a standard syringe  200  and attach the shield  100  thereto ( FIG. 2 ). The needle-covering portion  102  also includes a thin wire  106  disposed therein in a substantially spiral shape to give the needle-covering portion  102  its conical shape. The wire is formed from a resilient material, such as metal or a flexible plastic, to allow the needle-covering portion  102  to be compressed and flattened under pressure and to retain its conical shape when the pressure is removed. The needle-covering portion  102  is of sufficient length to shield the needle of a syringe from view at all times during an injection. Accordingly, the needle-covering portion  102  may be the same length as a subcutaneous needle or an intramuscular (IM) needle (e.g., ½ inch to 1½ inches), but can also be sized smaller to fit over the needles of insulin and heparin syringes. 
         [0018]    The needle-covering portion  102  may be formed from a sterile, flexible, latex-free material. The material is necessarily opaque so that a needle cannot be seen through it. The needle-covering portion  102  may also be made of a resilient latex-free material that provides the same functionality as the thin wire  106  so the thin wire  106  is not required. Or, the needle-covering portion  102  may be formed entirely from the thin wire  106  such that the thin wire  106  forms an enclosed spring element that shields the needle from view. 
         [0019]    As.  FIG. 2  illustrates, the shield  100  is configured to attach to a syringe  200  by sliding the attaching portion  104  over the base/hub  202  of the syringe  200 . The attaching portion  104  is configured with a tolerance to provide an interference fit with the base/hub  202  of the syringe  200  so that the shield  100  remains attached and in place on the syringe  200  when installed. In the alternative, the attaching portion  104  may be configured with any suitable attaching mechanism, such as threads for engaging corresponding threads on the base/hub  202  of the syringe  200 , so that the shield  100  remains attached and in place on the syringe  200  when installed. 
         [0020]    In use, a patient places the shield  100  against the area of the skin to which an injection is to be administered and asserts downward pressure on the syringe  200  until the needle-covering portion  102  of the shield  100  collapses. As  FIG. 3  illustrates, as the needle-covering portion  102  of the shield  100  collapses, the lower edge of the needle-covering portion  102  extends radially outward until the needle-covering portion  102  takes the shape of a substantially flat circle. When the needle-covering portion  102  of the shield  100  is substantially flat, the patient will know that the needle of the syringe  200  is completely inserted, and the patient can inject the dose of medicine in the syringe  200  by depressing the plunger  300  on the syringe  200 . After the dose of medicine is injected, the resilient nature of the thin wire  106  will produce a spring like effect to assist in withdrawing the needle from the patient&#39;s skin and to re-form the needle-covering portion  102  in a substantially conical shape as the needle is withdrawn, which maintains the needle shielded from the patient&#39;s view as it is withdrawn. And, after the needle is withdrawn from the patient&#39;s skin, the needle-covering portion  102  will also cover the needle sufficiently to prevent any potential needle stick injuries in the patient, caregiver or health care practitioner. 
         [0021]    After use, the entire syringe  200 , needle, and shield  100  may be disposed of together in a sharps container. Or, if the shield  100  is provided on a re-usable syringe, such as a pen injector, the shield  100  can be re-used for subsequent injections. Depending on the application, the shield  100  may be attached to the syringe  200  separately from the needle so that the cap can be removed from the needle and medicine can be withdrawn from a vial without interference from the shield  100 . Or, the shield  100  may be provided with the needle and attached to the syringe  200  at the same time when the syringe  200  already has the required medicine in it, such as with auto-injectors. 
         [0022]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 4-8 , the needle-covering portion  102  of the shield  100  may also have other shapes and/or configurations without departing from the spirit of the present invention. As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the needle-covering portion  102  may be a substantially cylindrical in shape while functioning in a substantially similar manner as the cone-shaped needle-covering portion  102  illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3 . Or, as illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the needle-covering portion  102  may be substantially cylindrical in shape and configured to collapse and expand in a telescoping manner, wherein progressively wider concentric cylindrical portions are sequentially fitted in slidable engagement with one another and each preceding sequential cylindrical portion can be collapsed into or expanded from the widest cylindrical portion in a telescoping manner. Or, as illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the needle-covering portion  102  may be substantially cylindrical in shape and configured to collapse and expand like a bellows at a plurality of consecutive parallel circular folds along the perimeter of the needle-covering portion  102 . In the embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 5-8 , a resilient spring wire  106  is not shown but may also be provided to assist in expanding either of those needle-covering portions  102  back to their respective expanded shapes. 
         [0023]    The needle-covering portion  102  of the shield  100  may be provided with a design on the external surface that changes as the needle-covering portion  102  flattens out into a circle as the needle is inserted into the patient&#39;s skin. The change in pattern can be used to indicate to a patient when the needle is completely in the skin. That design can include cheerful and uplifting pictures to further relax the patient during an injection. 
         [0024]    Accordingly, the shield  100  of the present invention eases the fear of needles by concealing the needle from a patient&#39;s view during an injection. The shield can be used for self-injections as well as when the patient is receiving an injection form a caregiver, such as in a pediatric setting in doctors offices, acute care, and home care. Thus, the shield  100  provides a novel solution for addressing a patient&#39;s fear of needles, such as in a patient with Blenophobia. Moreover, by covering the needle at all times during an injection, the shield  100  protects the user from the needle after an injection as the user disposes of the needle and/or syringe  200 . 
         [0025]    The foregoing description and drawings should be considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. The invention may be configured in a variety of shapes and sizes and is not intended to be limited by the preferred embodiment. Numerous applications of the invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is not desired to limit the invention to the specific examples disclosed or the exact construction and operation shown and described. Rather, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.