April2017

Courtesy of Anu Chandra, this micro-ultrasound image shows in vivo sciatic nerve of a pig. Fascicles can be seen as fine honeycomb patterns which are poorly echogenic round areas surrounded by echogenic interfascicular tissues. The incidence of nerve damage during regional anaesthesia is high even with the help of ultrasound guidance. The insufficient resolution of the current clinical ultrasound systems and the difficulty in interpreting the anatomical relationships between the tip of the needle and the intraneural nerve anatomy contributes to the nerve damage. This study at Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, is part of Anu’s PhD research under the guidance of Dr Christine Démoré and Dr Graeme McLeod, which aims in using micro-ultrasound as a tool to visualise the nerve trauma caused by anaesthetic needle penetration during regional anaesthesia in real-time.