Do Needle Guides Simplify Ultrasound-Guided Procedur...
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  • December 18, 2017

Needle Guide

Figure 1           The placement of a needle into a patient, no matter the reason, is always a challenging and risky procedure. Needle visualization throughout the procedure is arguably the most important, and most challenging aspect of the

                      procedure. Mechanical needle guides are engineered to keep the needle aligned within the sound beam of the ultrasound transducer. Some needle guides have predetermined angles of approach, as seen in figure 1.

Needle Guide

Figure 2

Others are designed to allow the clinician to change the angle of approach during the procedure, as seen in figure 2. Which needle guide to use is often a personal preference, or is determined by the procedure being performed. Because of mechanical guides’ ability to keep the needle within the sound beam for visualization by ultrasound throughout the procedure, needle guides can and do simplify procedures by:


1.Improving needle visibility by as much as 54%1
2.Decreasing access time by as much as 52.9%1
3.Decreasing the overall number of needle passes and redirects1
4.Increasing the success rate of first and second attempts1