A needle assembly has a needle having an echogenic feature proximate to its distal sharp tip mounted to an echogenic cannula, with the echogenic tip of the needle extending beyond the distal end of the cannula. The echogenic tip provides guidance for the movement of the needle assembly under ultrasound observation so that the needle assembly may be more readily maneuvered inside a body. Once correctly positioned, the needle is removed and further confirmation may be made under ultrasound observation that the cannula has been correctly positioned inside the body. The echogenic feature of the needle may be at least one spiral groove that is tilted at an angle relative to the tip of the needle to effect a substantially 180° reflection of the ultrasound. An alternative echogenic feature to improve reflected echogeneity has crisscrossing grooves each having a predetermined pitch density formed at a neutral position on the needle.
