Next date
Wed, 16 September 2026
Location
London
About this course
This half-day, hands-on course equips clinicians with the knowledge and practical skills to perform ultrasound-assisted lumbar puncture. You'll learn how to use ultrasound to identify lumbar spine landmarks, optimise patient positioning, and accurately mark the site for needle insertion — improving first-pass success rates and reducing complications, particularly in patients with challenging anatomy. The technique allows you to visualise the path from skin to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to optimise procedural success. Once the ideal path is identified, ultrasound is not used to guide the needle through the tissues.
The course is led by experienced faculty with 21 years of teaching emergency medicine and point-of-care ultrasound courses. Over 23,000 clinicians have trained with Bromley Emergency Courses, with an average Google review score of 4.9 out of 5.
Lectures and live demonstrations cover indications and contraindications for lumbar puncture aligned with national guidelines, overview of lumbar spine anatomy, ultrasound physics and image optimisation for LP site marking, step-by-step procedure, and tips for challenging cases including high BMI patients or unclear landmarks.
Practical sessions include hands-on scanning and landmark identification using high-fidelity ultrasound lumbar puncture manikins, marking optimal needle entry points under supervision, familiarisation with a range of ultrasound systems, scanning with human models to appreciate anatomical variations, and supervised scanning with feedback to refine technique. Needle insertion will be practised on manikins, while scanning will be performed on both real volunteers and manikins.
This course is suitable for acute and general medicine physicians, emergency medicine doctors, anaesthetists, intensive care clinicians, neurologists, advanced clinical practitioners, and physician associates involved in lumbar puncture procedures. It is intended for clinicians who are already competent in performing lumbar punctures using the landmark technique, as well as those who have not previously performed the procedure.
