A catheter insertion device includes a housing, a needle, a guide wire, and a catheter disposed coaxially over the needle. The needle has a proximal end in the housing and a distal end extending from a distal end of the housing in an insertion position. The guide wire has a distal portion disposed in a lumen of the needle in a withdrawn position. The guide wire may include a safety tip having a non-coiled configuration in the withdrawn position and a coiled configuration in an advanced position. The catheter insertion device may include a sliding member attached to the guide wire, wherein movement of the sliding member translates the guide wire from the withdrawn position to the advanced position.

Disclosed are introducer components, assemblies, and methods. For example, an introducer assembly can include a fluidly connected syringe and needle. The needle can include a needle shaft and a needle hub over a proximal portion of the needle shaft. The needle hub can include a port and a valve disposed in the port. The port can be in a side of the needle hub proximal of a proximal end of the needle shaft. The valve can be configured to form a fluid-tight seal around an elongate medical device such as an access guidewire when passed through the port and into a needle-hub lumen of the needle hub. Such an access guidewire can be disposed in the introducer assembly just proximal of a needle tip of the needle. In this way, the access guidewire can be immediately advanced into a blood-vessel lumen upon establishing a needle tract thereto with the needle.

An integrated catheter assembly includes a housing member, an outer lumen member extending from the housing member, and a needle member slidably or movably coupled to the housing member, wherein the needle member can be extended beyond a first port of the outer lumen member in a first position and concealed in the outer lumen member in a second position. The outer lumen member has a side port between its first and second ports such that when the needle is extended in the first position and inserted into an arteriovenous fistula, blood from the arteriovenous fistula flashes into the needle member, is diverted through a relief port of the needle member out the side port of the outer lumen member for delivery to a dialysis machine. The assembly further includes an inner lumen member that is disposable through the housing member to extend out from the same the outer lumen member to provide dialyzed blood from the machine. The assembly therefore receives and delivers blood through a single injection site.

A medical catheter that includes an elongate main tube, the tube having an outer wall that surrounds an internal passage, branch tubes having an outer wall connected to the outer wall of the main tube which extend outward from the main tube in different respective directions and have one or more apertures passing through their outer wall to their internal passage to permit fluid to pass through the branch tubes and into the main tube in use. The branch tubes are arranged to be able to move towards each other to permit location of the catheter within the bore of a needle or needle-like apparatus and which return to their original outwards state when removed.

A catheter assembly includes a catheter; a catheter hub fixed to a proximal end portion of the catheter; a hollow needle having a needle tip and disengageably located in the catheter; a needle hub fixed to a proximal end portion of the needle; a guide wire slidably located in the needle, the guide wire being longer than the catheter and having a distal end that is protrudable from the needle tip; a guide wire hub configured to support the guide wire and move the guide wire with respect to the needle in association with movement of the guide wire hub; and a movement mechanism configured to retract the guide wire hub with respect to the needle hub such that the distal end of the guide wire is housed in the needle in association with forward movement of the catheter hub with respect to the needle hub.

Systems and methods for implanting an endovascular shunt in a patient is disclosed. The system having an expandable anchor configured for being deployed in a dural venous sinus of a patient at a location distal to a curved portion of a wall of an inferior petrosal sinus (IPS) of the patient; an elongate guide member coupled to, and extending proximally from, the anchor; a shunt delivery catheter having a first lumen configured to receive the guide member, and a second lumen extending between respective proximal and distal openings in the shunt delivery catheter, the shunt delivery catheter further having a penetrating element coupled to a distal end of the catheter; and the system further having a guard at least partially disposed over, and movable relative to, the penetrating element.

A rapidly insertable central catheter (“RICC”) insertion assembly can include a RICC, an introducer needle, a coupler coupling the RICC and the introducer needle together, and a sheath-splitting means for splitting a sheath body of the introducer needle away from an access guidewire. The sheath-splitting means allows the access guidewire to escape from the sheath body and remain in a needle tract established with the introduce needle. The splitting of the sheath body by the sheath-splitting means can be initiated by withdrawing the sheath body by a pair of finger tabs extending from a sheath hub around the proximal portion of the sheath body, twisting the introducer needle or a needle hub around the proximal portion of the needle shaft, triggering one or more triggers disposed in the coupler housing, or pushing a catheter tip of the RICC into the sheath body.

An IV catheter device can include needle cover that functions as a needle shield. By using the needle cover as a needle shield, the design of the IV catheter device is simplified thereby reducing its cost. The needle cover can be configured to slide along a needle hub between a distalmost position in which the needle cover functions as either a needle cover or a needle shield and a proximal position in which the needle cover exposes the needle to enable the catheter to be inserted into a patient's vasculature.

A medical puncture needle includes: a metal needle body formed in a tubular shape and including: a blade surface formed at a distal end portion of the needle body, a first transmission window configured to transmit light, and a second transmission window configured to transmit light transmitted through the first transmission window. The second transmission window is located on a proximal end side relative to the blade surface. The first transmission window and the second transmission window are shifted from each other in a circumferential direction of the needle body.

An introducer needle can include a needle shaft, a sheath over the needle shaft, and a needle hub around a proximal portion of each of the needle shaft and the sheath. The needle shaft can include a needle slot extending from the proximal portion of the needle shaft through a distal needle tip, which needle tip can include a bevel having a tip bevel and a heel. The needle shaft can include opposite needle-slot walls that either: a) face each other and are parallel or oblique to each other, or b) face toward or away from a bottom of the needle slot. Additionally or alternatively, opposite needle-shaft walls can be parallel to each other. The sheath over the needle shaft can seal the needle slot thereunder but for a sheath opening in a proximal portion of the sheath.