Trust invests in hand-held ultrasound

“We use the ultrasound system on a daily basis for interscalene, femoral and sciatic nerve blocks, as well as for vascular access,” said Dr Rudi Brits, consultant in intensive care and anaesthesia at the Royal Blackburn Hospital. “Being able to visualise the nerve as well as the anaesthetic during the injection has a number of advantages and in time we hope to see greater success rates, reduced risk of complications and less requirement for anaesthetic.”

“We may use the system for various other applications in the future, such as echocardiography. Our hepatobiliary specialists may also be interested in using it to visualise liver metastases during liver resections.”