Advancements in Ultrasound Guided Needle Procedures

Advancements in ultrasound-guided needle procedures have allowed clinicians to nearly perfect regional anesthesia procedures, needle biopsies, central line placement, and other procedures for the diagnosis and treatment or disease.  Though a variety of techniques are used to track the path of the needle, most cases require the practitioner to first identify the desired entry area with an ultrasound probe, which will then allow him to estimate the direction of needle trajectory and where exactly the insertion point should be for optimal entry – causing less discomfort and risk to the patient.

Once the needle is inserted into the skin, the doctor can then use the ultrasound probe to locate the needle tip and visualize it’s path through the patient’s intricate vein highway.  This, however, can be more difficult than it sounds, as the full length of the needle needs to be visible within the ultrasound beam to ensure safety and precision throughout the entire procedure.

Once the doctor is confident about the needle tip placement and the direction in which it’s headed, he can then complete the procedure “freehand”, or with enough flexibility to position the needle to an angle in which it will not damage any arteries or blood vessels or inject fluids into areas it shouldn’t.

The use of an ultrasound probe during this procedures offers many advantages, including low cost in comparison to other imaging methods, and low radiation.  It is an easily repeatable procedure as well, that is non-invasive, ensuring the right vein path is always known prior to any needle insertion, improving injection accuracy and minimizing potential risk to other nerves or blood vessels.

SeeMore’s Interson probes can help with a number of anesthesiology and pain management procedures, including:

• epidural space visualization
• ultrasound guided regional nerve block
• needle visualization and guidance
• real time visualization of injected substance

For more information on our portable ultrasound systems, including those with probes that can plug directly into a laptop and assist with ultrasound guided needle placement, please contact us!