Vein locators — technology of the future?
Have you ever had a blood test and the vein was hard to locate? Or are you a practitioner that needs to know where a patient’s veins are located? It is now possible to easily see where veins are located using handheld portable devices with near-infrared light.
Difficult Veins
Whether many times or a few, at some point in life, a person is bound to have a blood test. For the practitioner taking the blood, having knowledge of where veins typically lie and the ability to locate those veins is paramount for patient comfort and safety. As a practicing doctor for well over a decade, I have come across all sorts of patients. Those with incredible easy veins and those with seemingly none. Certainly in my junior days I wish I had a helping hand for those patients with small and dainty veins and for those whose veins collapsed as soon as a needle was inserted into the skin. Often such patients would know they have tricky to locate veins and would pre-warn the practitioner of this, but even this knowledge didn’t make the task any easier. For a small number of patients, taking blood would be an exercise for an anaesthetist with ultrasound guidance — as at the time, this was the only available technology.
Not only can there be situations where veins are tricky to find, practitioners also do their best to draw blood at their first attempt. This helps to reduce patient anxiety and discomfort. This is especially useful for paediatric patients where often they are already quite anxious about having a blood test and cooperation may be limited. So getting the test done quickly and efficiently is very important.
The Future
In the hospital setting, help can be sought from an anaesthetist with ultrasonographic aid. However, this is not always a possibility, especially in outpatient settings. Of course, many other tricks can be used prior to this, such as drinking plenty of water or using a glove filled with warm water over the potential injection site.
But what if these measures don’t work and there’s no readily available access to an ultrasound machine or specialist?
Vein locators which are FDA and CE certified are steadily making their way into the healthcare industry and becoming part of the doctors bag. With new generations getting smaller and portable, these hand held devices can be very useful in certain difficult situations before escalating the patient to a specialist.
Vein locators typically have a sensor on the device that takes the different absorption and reflection ability of the vein and surrounding tissue to near-infrared light. Some locators are able to detect veins of up to 10mm, which can be highly useful in emergency scenarios where a large calibre vein is required.
For those who extract blood regularly, stands can also be purchased to allow for a handsfree option, giving the practitioner a real-time assessment of the veins.
Of course, before using a locator, it’s important to read the fine print. Some will advise that the projected image is slightly larger than the actual vein and so injecting into the middle of the vein is recommeded. It is also important to use the locator at the correct distance to ensure accurate readings.
Use in Aesthetics
Using a vein locator benefits those who regularly perform invasive procedures, or those who work in emergency or paediatrics. However, there is also another group of practitioners who would benefit from their use.
As a cosmetic physician, I regularly inject anti-ageing injections into the face. One of the known issues that can arise from this is the development of bruising. Naturally, this can be quite aesthetically unappealing for a patient, though temporary and only lasting up to 5 days, the avoidance of this would be ideal. In certain situations, veins are easy to see on a surface level and so avoiding injections around these sites is straight forward. However for patients where veins are not visible, a vein locator would be very useful.
Not only would this help the practitioner to avoid injecting into a vein, but it will also increase patient confidence in the practitioner and improve the cosmetic outcome of the procedure.
Conclusion
Vein locators have a number of benefits in healthcare, not only helping to reduce patient anxiety and trauma relating to blood extractions, but additionally they can improve patient comfort and safety. With newer devices being easier to hold and less cumbersome to use, will this be a mainstay of medical practice? Let me know what you think below.
I hope you have found this article useful.
Take care and stay healthy,
Dr Nora x
Please note that the contents of this article are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or medical condition.
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