A toddler is squirming in pain as the clinician is struggling to find the vein after the first attempt — this is not an uncommon scenario.  

Every day, there are about 40 million vein punctures worldwide, with 33% failing on the first try with newborns and children and 20% failing on the first try with adults. 

It’s often no one’s fault. The most common cause of vein puncture failures is some patients just naturally have harder-to-find veins.  

These patients include newborns and toddlers, patients with a very dark complexion, patients with excessive hair, the obese, the elderly, and patients with a history of missed veins. 

Not being able to find veins at the first attempt is uncomfortable for everyone involved. This is why vein finders are an incredible invention that is being widely used in medical settings today.

Vein Finders: How Do They Work? 

Lots of vein finder brands have appeared in the market in recent years. Some names you may recognize include AccuVein, AimVein, and UMTEC. 

These are handheld devices that “scan” the area of a patient’s body and generate an image of the vein. 

These vein finders work essentially the same way: 

They project the right kind of infrared light onto the area of the patient’s body where the puncture will take place. The IR light is absorbed by the blood but not by the tissues around the vein. The result is an image where the veins appear darker than the surrounding tissue.  

Finding the Best Vein Finders 

When choosing the best vein finder, you have to consider how and where you’re going to use it, your budget, and the quality of images you’re looking for. 

These are some questions you should be asking: 

• Does the device produce high-quality images that show you the exact location and depth of the veins? 
• Can the device be easily transported?  
• Can it be used by one person or do you need another set of hands to hold the device while you find the vein? 
• Does it meet my budget? 

Vein-Eye Carry Vein Finder 

A vein finder that we think deserves a special mention is the Vein-Eye Carry by Near Infrared Imaging.  

Unlike most vein finders that generate reconstructed images where the veins appear to be of the same depth, the Vein-Eye Carry provides real-time videos that clearly show the exact location and depth of the veins.  

This vein finder also allows for a hands-free, one-man operation. Just clamp it onto a bed frame, desk, chair, or any furniture or surface that can be clamped on.  

The Vein-Eye Carry is also several hundred dollars more affordable than most vein finders in the market, bringing groundbreaking vein finding technology to many healthcare facilities regardless of size and funding. 

At Tiger Medical, we are committed to bringing you the best vein finders in the industry. Reach out to us if you need more help in finding the best vein finder for your medical practice.