A combination of probe holder and laser navigation

To the Editor, Recently, opportunities for ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve block have been increasing. It is difficult for beginners, and sometimes even for skilled persons, to visualize the needle during the procedure due to the narrow width of the ultrasonic beam. There have been several reports of attempting easy visualization of the needle, for example, with the use of a needle guide [1–3] or laser navigation [4]. However, it is difficult for a single operator, with only two hands available, to perform the different maneuvers, namely, holding a probe, manipulating the needle, and injecting the anesthetic, simultaneously. Herein, we describe a method for undertaking all of the three aforementioned procedures simultaneously using a probe holder, in addition with laser navigation which visualizes easily the needle by adjusting the needle body to the laser (Fig. 1a). The fixed probe makes it possible for a person to inject the anesthetic agent and insert a catheter alone. Furthermore, the laser navigation helps to pay attention to the plane of the ultrasound beam. We used the probe holder previously developed by us for a linear probe (S-Nerve HFL50x/15-6, FUJIFILM Medical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). This device is consisting of three parts, the flexible arm (Flexible arm, PROKIZAI.COM Co., Ltd., Naha, Japan), the probe holder, and the laser module (Line laser module, Denshi Tusho Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). The laser navigation and the probe