Children’s hospital pioneers infrared intravenous injection aid

A CHILDREN’S hospital is using a new device that helps doctors and nurses locate veins for injections.

The Royal Hospital for Sick Children (RHSC) in Glasgow is using the handheld device to illuminate veins using infrared light.

The AccuVein AV300 is held seven inches above a patient’s veins, and when a button is pressed, the red light is projected over the area to conspicuously highlight veins below the skin’s surface.

Dr Graham Bell, consultant anaesthetist at the RHSC, said: “One of the most difficult things for children can be the process of taking blood or inserting a tube into the vein.

“It can be hard to see the veins, particularly in babies, and we may have to try a number of times before being successful.”