Patent ID: 8177753

Claim:
A catheter insertion assembly comprising: a. a hub having a proximal end, a distal end and a lumen through the hub connecting the proximal and distal ends; b. a valve disposed in the lumen of the hub, said valve preventing substantially all fluid flow through the lumen in at least one direction below a pressure threshold; c. a stiffener comprising a proximal end, a distal end and a lumen, the proximal end of the stiffener is attached to the hub and the stiffener extends distally of the distal end of the hub, and the stiffener lumen is in fluid communication with the hub lumen; d. a narrowed portion of the hub lumen having approximately the same inside diameter as the outside diameter of the proximal end of the stiffener, wherein the proximal end of the stiffener is attached to the hub at the narrowed portion of the hub lumen; and e. one or more irrigation tunnels, wherein the hub lumen is divided by the narrowed portion into a distal hub portion and a proximal hub portion, the irrigation tunnels extend through the narrowed portion and form fluid communication between the distal hub portion and proximal hub portion.