The use of a needle guide kit improves the stability of ultrasound-guided techniques.

ABSTRACT

A needle guide kit will be able to improve visibility on ultrasonic images. We examined the degree of stability using a SIVA guide. The SIVA guide is a needle guide kit in which the angle is not restricted, allowing the puncture to be made at any angle. We punctured the Blue Phantom™ with a high-frequency linear probe with a SIVA guide and measured the intensities of the needle at depths of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 cm on the ultrasound image with Image J software. We set all punctures angles at 45 degrees from the Blue Phantom™. Six anesthesiologists with >7 years experience performed two punctures-one case was punctured with a SIVA guide and the other was punctured without a SIVA guide. Some significant differences were noted in the results between the two punctures at depths of 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 cm. We were able to prove that the use of a needle guide kit could improve visibility on ultrasonic images.