Patent ID: 8038647

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a needle tip shield housing defining an inner region, the needle tip shield housing having a distal opening and a proximal opening and a central axis extending between the distal and proximal openings; a biasing member extending from the needle tip shield housing and having a latch extension, the biasing member and the needle tip shield housing being a single-piece structure; the latch extension extending away from the central axis toward the exterior of the needle tip shield housing, the latch extension being shaped and sized to engage an aperture in a catheter adapter to secure the needle tip shield housing to the catheter adapter; and the biasing member, in a single action, displacing a needle away from the central axis and disengaging the latch extension from the aperture in the catheter assembly when the needle is drawn proximally along the central axis so that the tip of the needle is drawn through the distal opening.