Shameen Izwan Anthonysamy and Khairul Naim Abd Aziz
Keywords: Vein Finder, Near-IR LED, Venepuncture
Abstract: Venepuncture has been practiced for centuries and is still one of the most common invasive procedures in the health care industry. Overweight and dark skin tone patients generally have veins that are very deep and are difficult to visualize or palpate and any puncture made may have to be made based on phlebotomist’s knowledge of venous anatomy. MiNOVEIN is a device proposed to make vein detection easier to visualize. In order to obtain a high success rate, cannulation site on the forearm needs to be clear and visible so that vein identification is confirmed thus minimizing errors caused by medical staffs. This innovation aims to study on the appropriate light of wavelength used to make cannulation sites visible on several types of skin tone and on overweight people based to the body mass index chart (BMI). The concept of MiNOVEIN is by implying non-invasive near-infrared (NIR) technology that is used for veins projection onto the skin’s surface. MiNOVEIN uses 18 units of 5mm near-infrared LEDs with the range of 650nm to 680nm. NIR LEDs penetrates deeper into the skin, to a depth about 25 mm while vein is located 6 mm under the skin surface. Veins can be traced due to haemoglobin in the blood absorbs infrared light making the veins to appear darker than the surrounding tissues. Based on the results, cannulation sites are visible in most skin tones thus indicating veins underneath the skin. However, for overweight patients, not all cannulation sites are visible. The cannulation sites detection areas decrease as the BMI increases. In conclusion, MiNOVEIN has successfully reached its target by completing the study objectives. The higher the cannulation sites the higher the chances of veins to be detected. The hypothesis of this study was accepted.