How does ultrasound help guide needle placement?
Simply put, seeing is believing. Ultrasound-guided injections have a greater chance of hitting the mark because practitioners can visualize the needle placement in real-time.
Better needle visualization increases efficiency during procedures such as:
• steep angle injections
• nerve blocks (upper extremity blocks, neuraxial blocks, femoral nerve blocks, brachial plexus blocks, regional pain blocks)
• epidurals
Anesthesiologists who utilize ultrasound guidance for needle placement see a decrease in vascular puncture and an increase in the effectiveness of pain management medications.