MEMPHIS, Tenn. – (January 20, 2015) – Emergency Medical Services (EMS) – firefighters, first responders and paramedics – have a new first line of defense when it comes to difficult IV access. These clinicians trust Christie VeinViewer® Flex to access patients’ veins quickly for starting IV fluids and medications during emergency situations. Christie’s vein finder technology device projects an HD image of a patient’s vein directly onto the surface of the skin allowing EMS personnel to see blood patterns up to 15mm deep.
The West Memphis Fire Department in Arkansas deployed three VeinViewer Flex devices in its emergency vehicles in 2014. According to Chris Brogdon, West Memphis Fire Department EMS Director, “VeinViewer is an invaluable tool that is easy to use and especially effective for difficult IV access patients regardless of age, skin tone or body size.”
“The portable VeinViewer Flex is ideal for EMS professionals who have to act quickly to find a patient’s vein. The device uses harmless, near-infrared light so there are no eye safety issues and, with its Class B rating, it can be taken into a patient’s home,” said Christie VeinViewer Product Manager, Erin Shelton. “VeinViewer provides a simple alternative before having to move on to more invasive and painful procedures such as intraosseous infusions.”
VeinViewer is proven to increase the rate of successful first-stick attempts by up to 100%. This can potentially cut down on more invasive and expensive procedures. The West Memphis Fire Department has already seen a return on their investment. Brogdon added, “In just four months it [VeinViewer Flex] paid for itself by reducing the number of unnecessary IOs.”
How VeinViewer works
Christie VeinViewer projects an HD image of a patient’s veins directly onto the surface of the skin. Harmless near-infrared light is absorbed by hemoglobin in the patient’s blood and reflected by surrounding tissue. VeinViewer then captures that information, processes it and projects a real-time, high-definition image of the patient’s veins directly on the surface of the skin.
VeinViewer technology was developed with the aid of the engineering capabilities and resources of parent company Christie Digital Systems, a leading global visual technology firm with more than 80 years of experience in the projection systems industry.
With HD imaging and Df2 technology, this small VeinViewer model is the brightest and only handheld vein illuminator that provides benefits for all patients during the entire Pre-, During- and Post- vascular access procedure. It is ideal for alternate care facilities, such as surgery and blood/plasma centers, as well as home healthcare and Emergency Medical Services (EMS), well suited for hospital departments such as the Emergency Department and NICU where space requirements and speed of assessment demand an ultra-portable and reliable vein finder.
To learn more about Christie product offerings: VeinViewer Vision2, VeinViewer VisionXTND and VeinViewer Flex, please visit www.christiemed.com.
About Christie Medical Holdings, Inc.
Christie Medical Holdings, Inc. is a global company based in Memphis, Tenn., that discovers, develops and commercializes medical technologies. The company’s market-leading product, VeinViewer, is a mobile vascular imaging system that allows health care providers to clearly see accessible vasculature as a real time HD image, directly on the surface of the skin. VeinViewer is manufactured in the USA. Christie Medical Holdings Inc. is owned by Christie Digital Systems Inc., a global visual technologies company and a subsidiary of Ushio Inc., Japan (JP:6925). For more information on Christie Digital Systems or Christie Medical Holdings, visit www.christiemed.com.
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