Abstract
Since 1994, our institution has used Safe guide®, a minimally invasive central venous catheterization kit, constantly making modifications to the device to ensure patient safety and reduce the stress of operators performing catheter insertion. With recent recommendations to use an ultrasound-guided procedure and metal needles for central venous catheterization, certain problems such as venous collapse and posterior vessel wall penetration have been observed during ultrasound-guided catheterization. This has led to a renewed recognition of the usefulness of Safe guide®, which is minimally invasive to the blood vessels. In this paper, we describe the structural characteristics of intravenous needles used in clinical practice, describe the processes used in the development and modification of Safe guide®, and discuss the optimal device for ultrasound-guided catheterization based on the findings obtained during this procedure.
