Patent ID: 8523809

Claim:
A safety device for shielding a sharp tip of a cannula having an interior passage including first and second opposite ends, the sharp tip being positioned at the first end of the cannula, the safety device comprising: a shaft sized and shaped for being received into the passage of the cannula through the first end of the passage and extending to the second end of the passage, the shaft having a first end and a second end; a shield supported adjacent the second end of the shaft and constructed for receiving and substantially shielding the sharp tip of the cannula upon reception of the shaft in the cannula passage; a catch positioned on the shaft adjacent the first end of the shaft, the catch being adapted to prevent withdrawal of the shaft from the passage of the cannula and withdrawal of the sharp distal tip from within the shield when the shaft is received in the passage in a position where the shield receives the sharp tip of the cannula,the catch mounted on the shaft for the movement between a retracted position in which the catch is substantially aligned with the shaft for movement through the passage of the cannula and an extended position in which the catch projects outwardly from the shaft.