Patent ID: 8021338

Claim:
An access needle, said access needle comprising: (a) a stylet, said stylet having a proximal end and a sharpened distal end; (b) a stylet hub, said proximal end of said stylet being fixedly coupled to said stylet hub, said stylet hub including a first chamber and a second chamber, said second chamber surrounding at least a portion of said first chamber and extending generally parallel thereto, said stylet hub comprising a detent; (c) a sheath coaxially surrounding said stylet, said sheath having a proximal end and a blunt distal end; (d) a shuttle, said shuttle being coupled to said proximal end of said sheath, said shuttle being movable between a first position in which said sharpened distal end of said stylet is exposed and a second position in which said sharpened distal end of said stylet is shielded by said blunt distal end of said sheath, said shuttle including means for releasably engaging said detent; and (e) a cannula, said cannula having a proximal end and a distal end, said sheath being removably coaxially received in said cannula, said cannula having a shuttle engagement structure for engaging the shuttle, wherein in the first position, the cannula is engaged with the shuttle by the shuttle engagement structure; and wherein distal movement of the cannula relative to the stylet causes distal movement of the shuttle until the second position is reached, wherein in the second position the detent of the stylet hub is engaged with the shuttle and continued distal movement of the cannula causes disengagement of the cannula from the shuttle.