The VeinViewer from Luminetx looks like an invention that is going to lend a hand to both the medical fraternity as well as the patients they serve.

According to statistics, around 1 billion vein punctures are performed annually as part of various medical procedures and often, for clinicians, finding a vein correctly at the first attempt is a tricky task. As for patients, needless to say, there is unnecessary pain and discomfort associated with persistent needle-poking. It's no surprise that the VeinViewer was listed among TIME Magazine's “Most Amazing Inventions of 2004.” The device elegantly solves this problem by using near-IR technology to “illuminate” veins running beneath the skin. The viewer’s imaging technology allows doctors and nurses to immediately spot accessible veins right on the surface of the patient’s skin regardless of his/her age, body type or skin tone. Which means, if the patient doesn’t have any accessible veins in the body part that was scanned, the clinician can surely and conveniently proceed to using the VeinViewer over another part to find a suitable vein.

Hard to believe that the innocuous looking green patch of light that is reflected off your skin can save you from so much distress. Long live (and thrive) non-invasive medical technology! Check out the Luminetx site for more illumination on the VeinViewer.

Via Shiny Shiny.