A Percutaneous Ultrasound Device With Needle Guide for Vascular Access

This NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)-funded study seeks to test a forward-viewing, ultrasound (US)-based device with needle guide for vascular access. Access to large arteries is an indispensable step of any trans-arterial catheterization procedure. Surface US-guided vascular cannulation greatly improves first-pass success and reduces complications and is recommended as the preferred technique by numerous specialties and governmental agencies. Surface US-guided cannulation has several key limitations, including dependence on operator skills and experience. Safety and success of vascular access could be vastly improved with a single integrated imaging/interventional device with a small footprint that enables a single-hand operation of the US probe and visualizes the operating needle in real-time. Reliable and accurate real-time image guidance for vascular access has the potential to appreciably impact public health by enhancing patient safety and convenience, improving procedural accuracy and increasing procedure throughput. Successful implementation has the potential to reduce care and complication costs across millions of vascular access procedures. Vu-Path™ is a small footprint, US-based device with needle guide. It is a dual-lumen instrument with parallel US imaging and interventional lumens. The forward-viewing US transducer is located at the catheter tip and focused such that the tip of the needle in the interventional lumen, and all proximate structures, are always clearly visualized in real time throughout the procedure. This is a first-in-human pilot study of the Vu-Path™ device, aiming to its establish clinical feasibility and safety for exemplary use.