Ultrasound guided needle guidance
Ultrasound guided vascular access can be a very useful skill. It can help to find vessels in patients with difficult veins and for placing larger lines whilst avoiding damage to nearby structures.
However, for a beginner the guidance of a needle using ultrasound can be counter-intuitive, particularly when using the short axis view plane. Frequently students mistakenly think that the shaft of the needle is the tip, leading to greater advancement than intended and potential for unintended damage to surrounding structures.
Ironically the use of ultrasound can be more dangerous than palpation based techniques. But with a little teaching and simulation the risks can be understood by students.
With the new Deepscope needle simulator, students can learn to guide the needle in a short axis or long axis approach. They can visualise the ultrasound beam and see the cross sectional view, to understand the 3D anatomy better.
Currently the needle simulations include two phantoms, a translucent phantom for learning and an opaque phantom to test oneself. In the near future we will be adding:
More complex phantoms with branches
Nerve block simulations
Central line simulations
Joint aspiration simulations
The needle simulator is available for pre-sale now and will be shipped within the next 3 weeks. It includes two pieces of hardware, 3D model ultrasound probe and a 3D model needle and it requires a laptop, tablet or phone to run the software.
Initial customers will have access to all simulations for free. In future, these simulations will be purchase-able as individual modules for new customers.
If you are interested to discuss needle simulations or have a particular requirement for your teaching environment, you can email us - alastair@deepscope.co.uk