The Children's Hospital offers new vein viewing technology
System "lights up" tiny veins for IVs and blood tests

 

 

A trip to the doctor just got less scary for patients at The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida. The Children's Hospital is the only health care facility in the area to have the VeinViewer Imaging System. The VeinViewer is part of the technology used in Lee Memorial Health System's "Draw Blood not Tears" campaign aimed at making doctor and hospital visits less frightening for children.

The VeinViewer uses near-infrared lighting to "light up" all of the veins in a patient's hand or foot, making it much easier for clinicians to identify veins and administer injections or start IVs. The VeinViewer is especially useful when treating children, who often have veins that are harder to identify, says Dr. John Iacuone, Director of The Children's Hospital.

"The pain of an injection or any needle stick is the No. 1 fear of children and their parents. It can be a traumatic experience," said Iacuone. "The VeinViewer helps us to find the child's vein almost always on the first try, making procedures much less painful for children and parents."

The Lee Memorial Auxiliary and the Lee Memorial Health System Foundation purchased the two VeinViewers for The Children's Hospital, which the hospital received last month. The VeinViewers arrived the same day that an 18-month-old patient needed intravenous medicine to counteract an attack of sickle-cell anemia.

Sickle-cell anemia is a hereditary dis- ease that causes red blood cells to become sickle-shaped and sticky, which can lead to painfully clogged blood vessels, serious infections and organ damage.

The staff in the Oncology unit at The Children's Hospital knew it had always been difficult to administer an IV to their infant patient, but he needed the medicine immediately. Using the VeinViewer, they were able to find a vein and give him the IV on the first try.

"This technology is so advanced that clinicians can not only find the veins, but they can find the best veins," said Iacuone. "It's like X-ray vision for Superman."

The VeinViewer is just one of the many ways that The Children's Hospital helps patients and their families feel more comfortable, he added. "That's what the Vein- Viewer means. Mamas and babies are going to have less fears and less tears," he said.

The VeinViewer is manufactured by Luminetx Corporation.

The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida is located at HealthPark Medical Center in Fort Myers and is part of the Lee Memorial Health System. As the only facility of its kind between Tampa and Miami, The Children's Hospital is dedicated to giving children and teenagers the highest level of medical and surgical care available anywhere. Both inpatients and outpatients receive comprehensive care for medical problems ranging from minor ailments to critical injuries.

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