Project Description

A lumbar puncture is a procedure performed to collect cerebrospinal fluid from a patient and is the first step in diagnosing a number of neurological conditions like multiple sclerosis and meningitis. The procedure involves doctors feeling for anatomical landmarks on a patient’s back to identify a target space for needle insertion in between vertebrae. The current failure rate for a standard lumbar puncture is around 28%, and this is in part due to the inaccuracy of standard landmarking methods for locating the spinal canal. If failure occurs, the patient is either referred to a fluoroscopy-guided lumbar puncture which costs the patient and hospital more time and resources as well as increasing patient stress and causing a delay in treatment. VerteVision offers a quick, low-cost, and effective solution that provides direct visual feedback to doctors in identifying bone and non-bone regions in the back. Consisting of an inked foam pad and roller assembly, the VerteVision simply needs to be rolled across a patient’s back at the start of the procedure to highlight the target space for needle insertion. The roller uses pressure to compress and move the skin out of the way of the vertebral column, leaving darker ink marks on the areas of skin with vertebrae underneath. The doctor then inserts the needle between the two markings highlighting the appropriate vertebrae to more accurately find the spinal canal. VerteVision is a streamlined approach to lumbar punctures that will save time, reduce patient pain, and lower the rate of bedside failures, which will further save the patient and hospital more time and money.