Ultrasound-guided Needle Placement System Optimized for Translation to Mauritania

PURPOSE: Point-of-care ultrasound image-guided therapies (POCUS IGT) transcend geographic and socioeconomic boundaries and help bringing modern therapies to underserved communities and countries. Unfortunately, current commercial systems are not feasible to deploy in Mauritania due to prohibitive costs of purchase, support, and operation. We present the development of a versatile POCUS IGT system, optimized for financial and operating conditions in Mauritania. We aimed to create a system that is functionally similar to the popular CIVCO product, but costs only a small fraction of the price due to the support of inexpensive ultrasound scanners and its use of open-source software. METHODS: A 3D-printed plastic needle guide with multiple guide channels was designed to securely fit around the ultrasound probe, placed in a sterile cover, and fitted with a sterile guide sleeve. Open source targeting software was developed to overlay selectable needle trajectories on the live ultrasound image. RESULTS: The assembly and workflow were found to be similar to CIVCO's. The operator was able to accurately reach targets in the entire workspace. Excluding the price of the ultrasound scanner, the use of system costs around $1.00 per patient. CONCLUSION: A POCUS IGT system was developed using free open-source guidance software that supports low-cost ultrasound scanners, offering similar performance to the leading commercial system for 5% of price.