Laser needle guide for the sonic flashlight.

We have extended the real-time tomographic reflection display of the Sonic Flashlight to a laser guidance system that aims to improve safety and accuracy of needle insertion, especially for deep procedures. This guidance system is fundamentally different from others currently available. Two low-intensity lasers are mounted on opposite sides of a needle aimed parallel to the needle. The needle is placed against a notch in the Sonic Flashlight mirror such that the laser beams reflect off the mirror to create bright red spots on the flat panel display. Due to diffuse reflection from these spots, the virtual image created by the flat panel display contains the spots, identifying the projected destination of the needle at its actual location in the tissue. We have implemented our design and validated its performance, identifying several areas for potential improvement.