An improved nerve stimulator needle which allows for improved ease of use and
efficacy in the performance of targeted drug delivery to nerve. A variable control
mechanism is contained in a housing to which a needle is attached and several electrical
conductors are attached. The housing contains an embedded fluid path through which
a syringe is attached to the needle. The variable control mechanism and the housing
allows for positioning the needle and applying current to the needle with the same
hand. The needle may also contain a linear resistive coating that enables the determination
of the depth of the needle by determining the resistance of the length of the needle
above the skin surface of a patient. Another embodiment of the needle may include
an optical variable control mechanism.