Delivering sedatives with ultrasound — Rivanna Medical's founders on their new device

Rivanna Medical developed an ultrasound-based system to allow anesthesiologists to locate where to place a needle ahead of an epidural or spinal injection, Charlottesville Tomorrow reports.

Here's what you should know:

1. Rivanna Medical founders Mauldin Owen and Kevin Owen believe the Accuro could become the standard for anesthesia care.

2. The Accuro can accurately find the spinal midline through the use of ultrasound technology. It allows for precision needle placement.

3. Once the device detects the spinal midline, it color-codes the images outlining the bones of a patient's spine and the spaces between those bones. It also determines how far into someone's back a needle has to go to reach the epidural space.

Mr. Owen said in the report, "With these three pieces of information, anesthesiologists can hit the dime-sized area they're aiming for much more easily. We have a tool that is now proven to be effective and to increase success of the procedure. You reduce the number of needle insertions by roughly half, and that's correlated to reducing complications."

4. The device is being used by anesthesiologists at Charlottesville-based University of Virginia Medical Center for cesarean births, but its clinical use could be expanded.

5. The Accuro is FDA 510(k) approved.

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