Ashland, KY — King’s Daughters Medical Center recently introduced the Luminex VeinViewer, a device that enables caregivers to easily detect veins for venipuncture procedures such as IV insertion and blood sampling.

The VeinViewer is the first and only patented technology to find veins and project images directly onto the surface of the skin. It utilizes infrared light and a digital video camera to build an image of the patient’s vascular structure. The device then projects that image onto the patient’s skin using visible light.

Health care professionals can keep their hands free during procedures while the system displays the patient’s vein structure, regardless of age, body type or skin tone.

The medical center features two VeinViewer units—one is housed in the Heart and Vascular Center, the other in the Pediatrics Unit. Both devices are mobile and are easily transported to other patient care units throughout the medical center.

Sonia Dent, R.N., MSN, clinical informatics director, said the VeinViewer is reducing the number of needle sticks, as well as the levels of stress and discomfort associated with multiple sticks for the patient.

“The VeinViewer is truly having a positive impact on patient care,” Dent said. “The device makes our patients’ veins visible to the naked eye.”

Although performed frequently, venipuncture is commonly thought of as one of the more painful and anxiety-provoking invasive procedures performed by nurses. Experts estimate that more than 1 billion venipunctures are performed annually.

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