Commercialization of vein contrast enhancement

摘要

An ongoing clinical study of an experimental infrared (IR) device, the Vein Contrast Enhancer (VCE) that visualizes surface veins for medical access, indicates that a commercial device with the performance of the existing VCE would have significant clinical utility for even a very skilled phlebotomist. A proof-of-principle prototype VCE device has now been designed and constructed that captures IR images of surface veins with a commercial CCD camera, transfers the images to a PC for real-time software image processing to enhance the vein contrast, and projects the enhanced images back onto the skin with a modified commercial LCD projector. The camera and projector are mounted on precision slides allowing for precise mechanical alignment of the two optical axes and for measuring the effects of axes misalignment. Precision alignment of the captured and projected images over the entire field-of-view is accomplished electronically by software adjustments of the translation, scaling, and rotation of the enhanced images before they are projected back onto the skin. This proof-of-principle prototype will be clinically tested and the experience gained will lead to the development of a commercial device, OnTarget!, that is compact, easy to use, and will visualize accessible veins in almost all subjects needing venipuncture.