Anyone who has donated blood knows that even the most accomplished nurses and doctors can sometimes have difficult time in locating the vain. In order to find a vein that is perfect for the blood draw, it usually takes 3-4 tries and sometimes even more. During this time all you can do is lie there in agony, waiting and praying for the suffering to end.
Because of these problems, hospitals across the US are now testing a new non-invasive vein imaging method which involves a device originally developed for phlebotomy. In other words, this is a unique device, which encapsulates a near ultraviolet vein image, develops it, and projects it onto the skin using green light in real time.
This machine is called the Vein Viewer. In this article you can read all about the Vein Viewer and you can even see its performances on the video, in the end of this article.
What is Vein Viewer?
Designed by the Christie Medical Holdings, Vein Viewer is a handheld device that uses near-infrared light to sense the position of a patient’s veins. Then, it projects them on the skin, thus helping doctors and nurses in injecting the needle at the precise place.
According to a company statement, Vein Viewer shows a picture of your veins directly on your skin’s surface, thus saving you from the unnecessary pain of multiple needle stings.
You’ll need to attach the device to your flexible arm, so that it can be rolled into position. This helps in keeping the device steady and easier for the medical professional to observe the patient’s arm.
How does it work?
It discharges near-infrared light. This light is then absorbed by hemoglobin present in the blood and then replicated by nearby tissue. The unit virtually processes the data and projects it in real-time onto the skin.
This image delivers a precise image of the patient’s blood outline. The device can see patterns up to 0.6 inches (15mm deep), and veins up to 0.4 inches (10mm) deep. The device also contains a feature which allows you to grow the contrast in the image, giving more thorough vein formations. This helps the nurse, or doctor, find the turns in the patient’s vein called bifurcations, and the valves and inject the medicine in the proper place or the least painful vein to draw blood from.
The device allows you to take up to 200 stationary images of the patient’s vasculature or the prearrangement of blood vessels in the body.
Advantages of Vein Viewer
As Christie’s president, George Pinho said, “Only VeinViewer can provide pre, during and post-access benefits throughout the entire vascular access procedure”.
“It is also the only device of its kind that has been shown through clinical studies to increase both first-stick success and patient satisfaction by up to 100 per cent while reducing medically unnecessary [catheter] lines by over 30 percent.” – He continued.
Video
With the help of Vein Viewer, the nurses and doctors can’t make mistakes. It uses a harmless near – infrared light, so there’s no need to worry, as it’s completely painless, but extremely correct.
Source: Top Healthy Life Advices
Video by: Kasuo Miyake
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