Patent ID: 7059368

Claim:
A needle guide for decreasing the incidence of needle injury to an operator who is accessing the interior of a container, such as a medical fluid container, by an accessing device, such as a syringe with a needle attached to the distal end of the syringe, the needle guide comprising: a proximal portion comprising a proximal end that is at least partly open and comprising a distal end; and a distal portion connected to the proximal portion, the distal portion comprising a proximal end and comprising a distal end that is at least partly open; where the proximal portion comprises an inner surface that tapers from the proximal end of the proximal portion to the distal end of the proximal portion; where the distal portion comprises an inner surface that is continuous with the inner surface of the proximal portion though an opening; and where the distal portion is configured such that the inner surface of the distal portion fits snugly over part or all of the container to be accessed.