corporisfabrica:

Seeing beneath the skin

It’s not always easy to find a vein under a patient’s skin, especially if they have a darker complexion. This device, called the VeinViewer, solves that problem with augmented reality.

First, the device scans a patient’s skin using infrared light. By capturing and processing the reflected radiation, it identifies the locations of blood vessels and projects a bright green light onto the surface to highlight the where they are.

The resolution can be set so high that even the valves within veins as small as 0.22mm across can be seen, making finding a site for an injection a little less painful. There’s also promise for its use in the treatment and diagnosis of varicose veins, and aid in transfusions and blood sampling.