Patent ID: 7125397

Claim:
A needle assembly comprising: a needle holder comprising a body comprising an exterior surface and an interior surface defining an interior cavity, a channel comprising two edges defining a gap therebetween extending at least a portion of the body, and a Huber needle comprising a needle shaft attached to the body; said Huber needle comprising a bent section having an upstream needle section disposed at an angle to a downstream needle section; a middle retaining portion removably received in the interior cavity of the needle holder, the middle retaining portion comprising a tubular projection defining a bore and having the Huber needle extending therethrough; said bore comprising a first section comprising a first dimension and a second section comprising a second dimension; a protective element co-axially disposed with the needle shaft and positioned inside the bore of the middle retaining portion; said protective element axially movable with the middle retaining portion and axially movable relative to the middle retaining portion and comprising a distal portion comprising a third dimension when positioned inside the bore of the middle retaining portion and a fourth dimension when separated from the bore of the middle retaining portion; wherein the first dimension is larger than the third dimension, which is larger than the second dimension, which is larger than the fourth dimension.