The doctor's office can be scary. Scratch that, the needles in the doctor's office can be scary. This is especially true if the doctor has to puncture your skin multiple times to land the needle exactly where it needs to be.

But now an emergency-room doctor has created a system to cut down on the human-skin-as-pin-cushion problem.

The brainchild of Dr. Stephen F. Ridley, the AxoTrack sterile procedure kit uses sonograms and a virtual needle to pinpoint the exact path of a needle before it enters the body. The system helps doctors and nurses hit their targeted vein the very first time.

The AxoTrack system uses a custom ultrasound probe housed in a disposable sterile case. The probe is used in concert with a magnetic ring that surrounds the needle at the base of the syringe. This combination creates a virtual needle that's displayed on a sonogram.

The thin blue line in front of the virtual needle can be used as a sight to line up punctures. Photo: Soma Access Systems

Detecting a needle with just a sonogram, however, is difficult – the thin gauge of a needle doesn't appear on sonogram images. So the AxoTrack outlines a real needle with a blue "virtual" needle that's overlaid on the sonogram display. In effect, the virtual needle and its tracking line provide medical professionals with a sighting system that shows where the needle will go when it's inserted into the body.

According to Soma Access Systems, the AxoTrack increased the first-time success of needle punctures from 37 percent to 99 percent. The AxoTrack should not only mean fewer needle misfires, but could also cut down on our basic human fear of needles. They're not going away, they'll just be smarter and therefore ... not in our bodies as often.