A crisp, detailed ultrasound image is essential for Dr. Bernard Delvaux, a member of Quincy

Anesthésie, a team of France’s leading anesthesiologists. He explains the pinpoint precision

required when carrying out a regional block, an injection of anesthetic that numbs a patient’s

nerves before surgery. “The nerve is one- or two-millimeters width, and the needle has to

come close without being inside the nerve,” he explains “That’s why ultrasound has taken a

very important place in our medical practice.”

It also helps if an ultrasound device is as easy to carry as a tablet computer. Bernard’s team

of nine anesthesiologists at the Hopital Privé Claude Galien private clinic on the outskirts of

Paris, France, are constantly moving between operating theaters, the intensive care units

(ICUs), and the recovery rooms to prepare patients for surgery and treat their post-surgical

pain. They will perform scores of regional blocks every day, and in the typical week, treat up

to 400 patients.

But a new, compact point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) system is helping that busy team to

bring fast, efficient, and accurate perioperative pain relief. GE Healthcare has unveiled Venue

Fit, which boasts the same image quality, touchscreen, intuitive interface and real-time

documentation software as the rest of the Venue family* That allows anesthesiologists to

maximize their time and clinical confidence just like other medical practitioners who rely on

ultrasound. But there’s an added bonus: Venue Fit is the smallest system in the Venue family,

consisting of an easy-to-clean 14-inch touchscreen that can be mounted on a wall, cart, or set

on a table using a kickstand.

The extra portability is hugely valuable to the peripatetic anesthesiologist. “It’s very mobile,

so we can easily move it from the block room, where we do regional anesthesia, to the

recovery room, or to the ICU,” says Bernard. The device is also battery-powered, which

means that clinicians don’t need to spend time fiddling with plugs as they work.

For example, he says women recovering from caesarean deliveries might require an

ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum (QL) block, which involves the injection of anesthetic

into the body’s deepest abdominal muscle. “We can wheel the machine to the bedside, and

do this very easily,” says Bernard.

The compact size is also handy when the anesthesiologist is sharing space with other

doctors, such as during thoracic surgery. Here, the surgeon is operating on vital chest organs

while the anesthesiologist is managing ventilation, oxygenation as well as analgesia via

intravenous catheter. “We can put the machine in the corner of the operating room when we

are not using it, and then bring it over when needed,” says Bernard. “That’s very useful.”

The device’s crisp, clear image also enables prompt, precise pain relief, which is an advantage

for both the patient and clinical workflow. “You can see almost every detail,” explains

Bernard. “A short anesthesia and short operation are much better for a patient than a long

one,” he adds. “We can also get patients quickly out of the operating room.” That high-definition

image adds clinical confidence during urgent situations that require emergency surgery. Anesthesiologists can have a better idea within seconds if the stomachs is empty, Bernard says, or if a patient has suffered from a pneumothorax, more commonly known as a collapsed lung.

Venue Fit is also packed with user-friendly software. For example, anesthesiologists can use a

preset to instantly switch to lower-frequency waves, which yields better images of their

needle in deeper tissue. “For a deep block, you can just push a button instead of searching

step by step,” says Bernard. They can also de-clutter their screen by switching to a mode

called Simple Screen, which offers an image that is 18 percent larger without icons obscuring their

view.

Bernard explains that just a decade ago, several of the world’s anesthesiologists were still

using electrical stimulation to locate nerves and aim their needles. “The needle sent an

electrical impulse, and you would see a change in resonance when the needle got close to

the nerve,” he says. “Nerves are like electric wires, so you could see a small reaction.”

He is pleased that ultrasound-guided anesthesia, rather than tiny electric shocks, is now the

practice. “When you compare the two techniques, you can see that ultrasound is more

comfortable, by far.” He is excited about future enhancements to ultrasound technology that

will help him to optimize pain relief, maximize patient comfort, and deliver improved

outcomes. “Our job is all about speed, precision, and definition.”

Bernard is keen to dispel the myth about anesthesiologists: That they are

emotionally disconnected from their patients. “We don’t speak to them a lot, but when we

do, it’s very intense,” he says. “And I need [tools] to make me able to relieve their stress in

the best way possible.”

*The Venue family includes Venue, Venue Go and Venue Fit.

GE Healthcare Insights