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 .