A team of bioengineers supported through a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) has developed a pocket–sized, ultrasound imaging device to aid doctors in accurately placing needles into the lumbar, or lower, spine. The novel ultrasound system incorporates hardware and software, including a computer–aided detection algorithm to enhance bone discernment – which typically is poor with ultrasound – to navigate the lumbar anatomy.

In a feasibility study published in the journal Investigative Radiology, the researchers observed a group of three doctors who performed the calculations for needle placement in 68 patient cases. The needle procedure was not performed for the study. More than half the volunteers for the study had body–mass–index (BMI) scores of 30 or more, which is considered obese. The doctors using the ultrasound device achieved high accuracy in identifying lumbar spine landmarks, including the midline of the spine. They detected the midline of the spine in 94 percent of cases and the epidural space 94 percent of the time. The study was led by Mohamed Tiouririne, MD, chief of obstetric anesthesiology at the University of Virginia.

Referring to the Small Business Innovation Research support from NIBIB, Mauldin said that NIBIB not only funded the culmination of the team’s work to bring the device to market, but also funded the two landmark studies that showed the device was safe and effective in a clinical setting, which has been important for initiating the adoption of the handheld ultrasound device by clinicians.