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Children's Hospital offers Vein Viewer help for kids
New technology at Children’s Hospital is taking the guesswork out of locating a vein. The VeinViewer machine is helping nurses and health care professionals visualize children’s blood vessels and make IV insertion and blood draws easier. Pascale’s Pals Inc., a nonprofit organization, donated more than $25,000 to Children’s Hospital for the purchase of the VeinViewer. The VeinViewer uses infrared light, a digital video camera and an image-processing unit to show a view of a patient’s veins. The infrared light detects red blood cells in the veins, while the machine illuminates the position of the target area and projects the image onto the patient’s skin in real time. “The VeinViewer’s ability to see below the surface of the skin allows nurses to identify exactly where to insert a needle,” said Thomas Selva, M.D., professor of clinical child health, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine. “Our patients will no longer need to suffer through multiple needle sticks as nurses try to locate a vein for drawing blood.” The VeinViewer can be used by any patient regardless of age, body type or skin tone, but the technology will primarily be used for pediatric patients at Children’s Hospital. “This technology will help us care for individuals with small or hard-to find veins,” Selva said. “Many children have small arms and tiny veins, and these obstacles can make drawing blood difficult and sometimes painful. We hope the VeinViewer can help reduce the pain and stress involved with drawing blood for patients and their parents.” Pascale’s Pals Inc. is an organization founded by Sylvie Carpentier of Columbia to support Children’s Hospital patients. Carpentier’s daughter, Pascale White, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 1995 and treated at Children’s Hospital. Throughout the years, Pascale’s Pals has provided major support to children, their families and Children’s Hospital. “Pascale’s Pals saw this as a wonderful opportunity to assist Children’s Hospital,” said Carpentier. “The VeinVeiwer machine works wonders in easing the pain and worries of Children’s Hospital patients, and Pascale’s Pals is proud to provide technology to make the patient experience better.” “It’s great to know Pascale’s Pals provided this for us,” said Selva. “It is a wonderful gift to the hospital and to our knowledge we’re the first hospital in the state of Missouri to offer this technology.” Children’s Hospital is the largest and most comprehensive pediatric health-care center in mid-Missouri. Housed at University Hospital and Clinics and Columbia Regional Hospital, the 115-bed hospital is the only facility in mid-Missouri offering comprehensive, specialized children’s services such as trauma care, neonatal transport, child life therapy and a hospital school. |
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