Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026
Spinal Sonography for Ultrasound-Guided Lumbar Neuraxial Anesthesia
Published on: January 31, 2025
Use of ultrasound in needle placement in intercostal muscles: a method for increased accuracy in cadavers
Michele Retrouvey1, Tony Chiodo, Anton Quidley-Nevares
1Department of Anatomy, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA 23507, USA. retroum@evms.edu
Objective:
To validate the use of ultrasound technology for the positioning and leveling of intercostal needle placement.
Design:
Double-blinded experimental study.
Setting:
An anatomy laboratory.
Participants:
Two board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians, 2 first-year medical students, 1 anatomist, and 8 cadavers.
Interventions:
Four unfixed cadavers were used for unguided needle placement, and 3 unfixed and 1 partially fixed cadavers were used for ultrasound-guided needle placement. Ultrasound-guided needle placement was then confirmed with computed tomography and blind dissection.
Main Outcome Measure:
The accuracy of needle placement.
Results:
The unguided study showed needle placement in an intercostal muscle 89% of the time, but in only 15.4% of the time was the correct level sampled. In the 96 needle placements completed, the unguided needle placements had an accuracy of 8.3%, while ultrasound-guided needle placements had an accuracy of 93% (χ(2) with P<.005).
Conclusions:
Ultrasound guidance dramatically increases needle placement accuracy for intercostal nerve blocks and intercostal muscle sampling for electromyography.
