CHICAGO—Anesthesiologists love gadgets. So the hot news at this year's meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists was not about peripheral nerve blockers, longer-acting epidurals, or patient-controlled analgesia. Instead it was, many anesthesiologists said, "the Vein-Viewer," a device (manufactured by Luminetx) that can visualize subcutaneous vasculature.

The VeinViewer uses light-emitting diodes to beam near-infrared light onto the skin. According to a Luminetx representative, the VeinViewer can visualize vessels down to 8 mm below the surface. Arteries are distinguishable from veins by their pulsation. Larger vessels are easy to see at standard resolution; a higher resolution mode is available at the push of a button. While several meeting attendees tested the VeinViewer on their arms, the jugular and carotid vessels were quite apparent when one man put his neck under the device. Thus, the VeinViewer can be used for central-line access and for visualizing the peripheral vasculature.

Luminetx says the device works well regardless of patient age, body type, or skin tone. Since the device does not come into contact with the patient, cross-contamination is not an issue. VeinViewer is expected to have applications on hospital floors and in critical care departments, blood donation centers, dialysis clinics, nursing homes, interventional cardiology and radiology settings, oncology practices, and pediatric and neonatal services.

An estimated 1 billion venipunctures are performed in the United States annually, and many of them require several sticks. One study of 249 total IV peripheral venous insertions in children performed on 3 separate occasions (Pediatric Nursing. 2003; 29:351-354) found that the first attempt by pediatric nurses was successful only about half of the time. Two attempts were needed in about 67% of cases, and 4 attempts in 91% of cases.

Luminetx quoted the price for VeinViewer as around $25,000.