Background: We developed a novel photoacoustic needle, which emits ultrasound produced by the photoacoustic effect. This study focused on the most common "pitfall" associated with placement during ultrasound-guided vascular access, which is misidentification of the needle tip.
Methods: The study was conducted as a prospective cohort study using a questionnaire. The authors intentionally created two successful and one failed ultrasound-guided central venous catheterization videos using the photoacoustic needle on a simulator. Each of these three videos was then split into two movies for viewing, one with standard ultrasound images only and the second including the images from the photoacoustic needle, for a total of six movies.
Results: Participants who were 18 anesthesiologists, 12 residents, and 10 medical students, watched each of the six movies and completed a survey whether the puncture was successful or not. In the results, there was a significant difference in the percentage of correct answers whether the movie depicted successful or failed puncture with and without the photoacoustic ultrasound (p = 0.0001).
Conclusion: The novel photoacoustic needle improved the ability to identify the needle tip on recorded videos. It may have efficacy to prevent serious mechanical complication during the ultrasound-guided vascular access in clinical practice.
Keywords: Central venous catheter; mechanical complication; photoacoustic; simulation; ultrasound-guided; vascular access.