Technique & Nomenclature
Probe Movements
Imaging Planes
Sagittal: a vertical plane divides the body into right and left parts. Midsagittal divides the body into two halves, while parasagittal divides into two unequal halves.
Transverse: a plane that divides the body into superior and inferior sections.
Coronal: a vertical plane that divides the body into ventral and dorsal sections.
Needle Techniques
In-plane: refers to passing the object of interest through the plane of the ultrasound beam. This can be an block needle, as when performing an in-plane supraclavicular block, or a blood vessel when trying to determine the appropriate catheter size and length.
Out-of-plane: refers to the object passing through the ultrasound beam in a more cross-sectional window. Examples of this might be when performing an out-of plane popliteal nerve block, or performing a short axis radial artery catheterization. While you may see hints of needle location, such as adjacent tissue movement or a glimmer of the needle tip, in neither situation does one clearly see the entirety of the needle while it is being advanced. One can only infer the needle location.
Zimmerman, J.M. and Coker, B.J., 2017. The nuts and bolts of performing focused cardiovascular ultrasound (FoCUS). Anesthesia & Analgesia, 124(3), pp.753-760.
Bahner, D.P., Blickendorf, J.M., Bockbrader, M., Adkins, E., Vira, A., Boulger, C. and Panchal, A.R., 2016. Language of transducer manipulation: codifying terms for effective teaching. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, 35(1), pp.183-188.
End, B., Prats, M.I., Minardi, J., Sharon, M., Bahner, D.P. and Boulger, C.T., 2021. Language of transducer manipulation 2.0: continuing to codify terms for effective teaching. The Ultrasound Journal, 13(1), pp.1-6.