Morbid obesity is an increasingly prevalent problem in obstetric practice. Landmarks are often impalpable in obese patients making insertion of epidurals problematic. Thus there is clear clinical need to develop a safe efficient way to administer epidural anaesthesia. The central hypothesis of our application is that ultrasonic visualisation of the landmarks will aid insertion. Further it is possible to develop and manufacture a probe for general use by anaesthetists that will improve current clinical practice in this problematic area.