Patent ID: 7744570

Claim:
A medical apparatus for subcutaneous infusion of a liquid medication into a body for treating a physiological condition and for significantly reducing a number of times a skin of the body must be punctured in order to administer the medication, comprising: a substantially disc-shaped base having upper and lower sides, an upwardly-extending port having a fluid pathway extending therethrough, a funnel-shaped portion positioned between the upper and lower sides, an outside of the port narrowing near the upper side of the base, the base comprising an annular region surrounding the fluid pathway adjacent the lower side of the base and inward of the periphery; a funnel-shaped metal insert positioned within the port and overlaying at least a part of the funnel-shaped portion to protect at least a part of the funnel-shaped portion from being damaged by a needle; a septum positioned near a top of the port and configured to substantially obstruct the fluid pathway, the septum being penetrable by a needle to access the fluid pathway; an adhesive layer attached to the lower side of the base and a backing layer removably attached to the adhesive layer; a soft cannula attached to the base in fluid communication with the fluid pathway extending through the port, the soft cannula extending downwardly from the port; an introducer assembly configured to be removably engageable with the base, the introducer assembly having an introducer needle to be inserted through the fluid pathway and adapted to pierce the skin, and a base engaging portion configured to mechanically restrict rocking of the base relative to the introducer assembly, when the base and introducer assembly are coupled; and a cap having an upper side, a lower side and a periphery, the cap being connected to the base at a location that is in close proximity to both the periphery of the cap and a periphery of the base, wherein a substantial portion of the lower side of the cap is spaced significantly farther from the upper side of the base than from the upper side of the cap such that the cap is generally dome-shaped with a generally hollow space between a generally dome-shaped portion of the lower side of the cap and a generally flat portion of the upper side of the base; and a needle guard configured for removable insertion of at least a portion of the needle guard into an annular space surrounding the fluid pathway adjacent the lower side of the base and inward of a periphery of the base, the needle guard having sufficient length to prevent exposure of a sharpened needle tip of the introducer needle to prevent needle sticks by the introducer needle.