Sometimes a regional anaesthetic is preferred for certain medical procedures as it is considered to be safer for the patient.
However, in order to test the effectiveness of a local anaesthetic, a pinprick test is carried out and if the pinprick is felt, the anaesthetic is considered to be ineffective and it also means a wait time of 30 minutes after administering the anaesthetic to see its effectiveness.
A quick and accurate identification is needed in these types of cases so as to administer further anaesthetic if necessary to create an effective regional block, or to prevent further anaesthetic being used unnecessarily.
A thermal camera can provide quick accurate assessments of the effectiveness of regional blocks.
A regional block causes the blood vessels to dilate, causing the skin temperature to rise, a phenomenon that is easily picked up by a thermal imager.
From research conducted, it has been concluded that thermal imaging reaches higher accuracy values for longer. It is also non-invasive and does not rely on the patient’s ability to communicate.
The medical world is discovering the effectiveness of thermal imaging in different aspects of medicine from infection detecting and nerve damage spotting to soft tissue injury detecting.
In this case, the medical anaesthetist team were using a Flir i5 an effective, yet inexpensive camera that provided all the information the anaesthetist needed to correctly identify if the correct amount of anaesthetic has been used.
If you are considering a thermal imager for a similar function, the i5 may be ideal for you. To be certain, make sure you call the qualified thermal imaging experts to ensure you get the right camera for your needs on 0845 365 39 48.
Written by Sara Thomson
