Hadzic's Regional Anesthesia >Ban C. H. Tsui, MD, Admir Hadzic, MD

Equipment for Peripheral Nerve Block: Introduction

"As in other areas of medicine, anesthesiologists increasingly rely on more sophisticated equipment in regional anesthesia. The advanced technology used to accomplish and increase the success rate of regional anesthesia techniques requires thorough understanding of the equipment. One of the most important advances in regional anesthesia was the introduction of the portable peripheral nerve stimulator in the late 1970s and early 1980s.¹ Since that time, many improvements in nerve stimulators were made, as well as to the needle and catheter designs. Over the last decade, ultrasound also developed into a promising method for nerve localization.^1–3 As technology continues to evolve, it will likely assume a more significant role in regional anesthesia. Nevertheless, the performance of regional anesthesia techniques still requires proper set-up, careful preparation, detailed planning, and continuous monitoring to provide safe and effective patient care...."