Background: A high ability to visualize the needle on the ultrasonic images is necessary to perform\nthe ultrasound-guided nerve block safely. The Rafa Tuohy needleR (Vygon, Paris, France, Rafa) is a\nnon-stimulating Tuohy needle with sand-blasted steel at the tip of the bevel. We examined the degree\nto which the Rafa enhanced the visibility of ultrasonic images compared with the non-coated\nTuohy needle. Methods: We punctured the Blue Phantom. The dimensions of both the Rafa and the\nnon-coated Tuohy needles were 18 G Ã?â?? 80 mm. The puncture angle is 30 degrees and 45 degrees\nfrom the Blue Phantom. We measured the intensity of the tip of the bevel at a depth of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5\nand 2.0 cm for the puncture angle of 30 degrees, and 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 cm for the puncture\nangle of 45 degrees. Six anesthesiologists with more than seven years of experience performed\nthree punctures using each needle. Results: As an outcome, we concluded that at a puncture\nangle of both 30 degrees and 45 degrees, the intensity of the non-coated Tuohy needle decreased\nwith the depth. On the other hand, at an angle of 30 degrees, the intensity of the Rafa\nneedle did not decrease, and at an angle of 45 degrees the intensity only decreased very slightly as\nthe depth increased. Conclusions: The Tuohy needle with sand-blasted steel at the tip of the bevel\nprovided greater visualization than the non-coated Tuohy needle on the ultrasound images.
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