Have you ever had blood drawn for a donation or a medical procedure? What about an IV? If you’re anything like me, during these procedures you just shut your eyes and hope that the medical professional can get your vein on the first try.
Most professionals who have treated me have been quite successful at getting it right on the first try. I’m especially thankful that the nurse who monitored me during my first-ever blood donation back in college had a gentle touch — in fact, he had the needle in my arm without me even knowing it, and later removed it with such ease that I wanted to give him a big hug — because a bad experience may have soured my outlook on the importance of blood donation. I’m also lucky enough to have “good veins,” or so I’ve been told by several other nurses.
However, there have been a few times where the technicians couldn’t find the vein, leaving me with a sore arm (or two, if they had to try my other arm to get the vein). After one blood donation I went home with a large bruise. Not fun.
CONFERENCE AGENDA ANNOUNCED:
The highly-anticipated educational tracks for the 2015 R&D 100 Awards & Technology Conference feature 28 sessions, plus keynote speakers Dean Kamen and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason. Learn more.
Light is also useful in getting veins to “relax.” Researchers with Johns Hopkins Medicine discovered that a receptor on blood vessels makes the vessel relax in response to light. This is useful for treating vascular diseases. The team also uncovered a previously unknown mechanism by which blood vessel function is regulated through light of a specific wavelength.
The VeinViewer technology was developed by Christie Medical Holdings of Memphis. The device finds the veins up to 0.4 inches deep and then projects them onto the arm, all in real time. The near-infrared light can be either reflected back by the skin or absorbed by the hemoglobin found in the blood. It minimizes surface structures such as hair and wrinkles to help technicians find the vein right away.
The brightness and color of the projection can be switched (green, white, or yellow) for better contrast against a patient’s skin tone. The user is able to take up to 200 static images and then upload them to a PC for further examination. It’s also possible for the device to detect arteries, if they falls within the viewing depth of up to 10 mm for peripheral veins and up to 15 mm for blood patterns.
This technology could mean an increase in blood donations, a decrease in scar tissue for patients, and a more relaxed attitude toward needles.
