Are you a medical professional that struggles with finding the veins in your patients? If so, we are here to tell you about a medical device that will change your life and make your work easier.
This magical device is known as a vein viewer. Vein viewers help to illuminate the veins under a patient’s skin to make finding veins easier and less painful. To learn more about a vein viewer, keep reading below.
What Is a Vein Viewer?
A vein viewer (also known as a vein illuminator or vein finder) is a type of medical equipment that does exactly what its name says, helps medical professionals view veins. In more technical terms, a vein viewer is a device that is designed to help doctors and medical personnel locate veins under their patient’s skin, so there isn’t the hassle of poking them multiple times to find a vein.
Vein viewers will show a map of the veins under a patient’s skin in real-time. This can help to increase the satisfaction in patients and make it easy for doctors and nurses to find veins without having to poke the skin multiple times.
You may be wondering how does a vein finder do this? This device is based on the principle of the light-absorbing rate between the surrounding tissue and blood.
How Exactly Does a Vein Finder Work?
It’s important to note that not all vein finder devices work the same or even use the same technology. With this said, the fundamental principle of a vein finder is the same from device to device.
The fundamental principle of vein finding devices is that the hemoglobin found within your blood has a different light absorption rate than your surrounding tissue. This means that the vein finding device uses this difference to identify the veins under the skin. The device will then project near-infrared(NIR) light that is absorbed by the blood and reflected by the surrounding tissue.
What Is Vein Visualization?
Vein visualization is a type of technology that is very innovative. It helps medical professionals find the best veins for things such as IVs and the drawing of blood. This is also known as vein mapping.
What Can Vein Viewers Do?
We have looked at what a vein viewer is and how it works. Now let’s discuss what they can do and how helpful they can be to the medical world.
They Help With Blood Drawing Procedures
There really isn’t a substitution for a trained medical professional’s experience, but when a vein viewer is used, it can help to make the process of blood drawing simple. This will help nurses and doctors to locate veins in record time and help to ensure that they are hitting a vein. This means no more poking and prodding to find the perfect vein for your next blood draw.
There are also no limitations to where you can place the vein viewers. This means that the vein viewer can be placed anywhere on the body to help medical teams find veins in a matter of minutes.
One of the best advantages to the vein viewer is that it can help to locate the median cubital vein easily. The median cubital vein is a very large vein in your body that can sometimes be difficult to locate for trained medical professionals.
When it comes to this vein, the vein viewer will always be able to show it. This device can also be a big help for those who don’t have as much experience as others.
IV Access Is Easier
This is the most common and popular use for the vein viewer. Having precise IV access is one of the most important things when it comes to the medical field. With this said, many professionals struggle with finding veins for IVs.
This can lead to pain that is unnecessary for patients. This will even help with those veins that don’t want to give blood to the nurses. Limiting the times they have to take the needle out and try another vein.
Vein viewers are significant for patients with difficult venous access. This can be any obese, elderly, or even hypovolemic patient, to name a few. The nurse will be able to find an appropriate vein even if the patient’s are difficult to find.
Cosmetic Procedures
Using a vein viewer for cosmetic procedures is one of the unique uses of this medical device. Most aren’t aware that when cosmetic procedures are performed, doctors need to be aware of where the veins are in the area in which they are working.
Cosmetic procedures that can benefit from the vein finder are things such as filler injections when doctors have to avoid veins in certain areas and the tear through the nasolabial folds and lip. Avoiding veins for doctors is very important, especially when it comes to fillers. If fillers are injected into the veins, it can ruin your face and even affect your life.
What Types of Vein Finders Are There?
When searching for a vein finder online, you’ll be greeted with many options. Looking at these options closer, you will begin to see the variety of vein viewers that are on the market. To help decide which finder you should buy, we have created an in-depth look at each one below.
Infrared Light Projected Vein Viewer
When seeing the infrared light projected vein finder, you may notice that it looks similar to an infrared thermometer. These vein finders look similar to thermometers in their shape and design, but they don’t do the same thing.
These vein viewers use infrared light to detect the veins under the skin. Some will need a certain patch that will light up for easier viewing of the veins. Others will not need a patch and show the veins slightly lit up under the skin.
Infrared Light Screen Display Vein Viewer
Using the infrared light screen display vein finder will provide you with a more detailed picture of the veins beneath a patient’s skin than the vein finder above. This vein finder has a wand connected to a screen that resembles a tablet.
By placing the wand over the patient’s arm, the medical professional can move the infrared light up and down. As the medical professional moves the wand, they will keep an eye on the screen. This screen will show the veins in real-time as the wand moves.
This can help to find larger veins under the patient’s skin. It can also help medical professionals to find the best vein for what they are required to do.
LED Transmitting Vein Viewer
The LED transmitting vein viewer is also known as the portable vein finder. This is because the LED transmitting vein finder always comes in a smaller size than the models listed above. This makes it easy for nurses to carry the vein viewer in their pocket so it can be easily accessed when needed for procedures.
This device uses a lot of bright light. When this device is used, it is placed on the skin, and light pressure is applied. This helps to stretch the skin and make the selected vein engorged for easy needle insertion.
Where Can I Buy These Devices?
Now that we have looked into vein viewers closely, you may be wondering where you can purchase one to make your workday easier. These devices can be found multiple places, in all honesty, making them easy to get your hands on.
The global vein illumination market is booming and is projected to grow even next year. This means that every day more and more suppliers are beginning to carry these devices.
You can pick up a vein viewer through an online marketplace or even through a medical supplier. Try linking up with the company you work to see where they suggest buying one through and seeing if you can get any discounts through your employer.
Now You Know All There Is to Know About a Vein Viewer
We have given you a detailed look at a vein viewer. First off, we discussed what a vein viewer is and how the technology for this medical device works. We then explored what vein views can be used to make medical professional’s lives easier.
Lastly, we discussed what vein viewers are on the market and where you can pick one up. Now you know the ins and outs of vein viewers to make your workday a piece of cake. For more medical device tips and information, be sure to check out the rest of our website.