It may be small enough to fit in your hand, but don't let it's size fool you.
"The AccuVein machine is amazing," said Janet Desantis, RM, CMSRN of Sparrow Hospital Hemotology and Oncology.
Nurses say the impact this device is having at Sparrow Hospital is far beyond measure.
"I try to use it every chance I can," said Desantis.
Here's how it works...
"This button will turn the light on. If you want to stick out your arm, I'll show your hand," said Elizabeth Leskovar, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BC, an Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist with Sparrow Hospital.
Illuminating your veins instantly without pain, physical contact, or any type of medication.
"It uses an infrared light and the infrared light is actually absorbed by hemoglobin, which is in your blood. And in doing so, there's a couple lenses and it reflects that image up to the surface of the skin," said Leskovar.
It's completely universal and can be used on any patient, at any age, and on any skin color letting nurses find the best vein for venipuncture procedures like blood draws and IV starts by giving them a view 10mm beneath the patient's skin.
"I use it on every person, even though sometimes you can see their veins, because then you can see where the valves are so you don't hit a valve and blow a vein and have to start over. You can see where the bifurcations are, where the veins branch out, so it's great," said Desantis.
It also saves both time and money, allowing nurses on the floor to finish procedures on even the most challenging veins without having to call in a specialist from a different department.
"I think it's giving some of the nurses more confidence. They're so excited because they get it right, right away. And you're not poking around all the time," said Desantis.
This device is not only helping nurses. It also serves as a distraction to patients, helping to alleviate anxiety before a procedure.
"They're focused on seeing how cool it is," said Leskovar.
"When you bring it in the room, they're in awe, they want to see them. They love it. Every single patient I've used it on, loves it. They perk up, they want to see how it works. The families will come over and they want to see how their veins look, so it breaks up a lot of tension in the room," said Desantis.
Nationwide AccuVein has been found to reduce pain during venipuncture by as much as 39-percent in all patients and 59-percent in pediatric patients. And they say this device has been a game changer for cancer patients.
"A lot of times with the chemo their receiving, their veins become smaller, they're very hard, they get firm. They're just kind of burnt out from being poked so many times, " said Desantis.
Making it hard to find a viable vein not covered in scar tissue. But when you bring in the AccuVein...
"You get in an IV right away from them, it's wonderful. They're so happy. You know, they're tired of all the pokes. So it just brings a lot of relief to them," said Desantis.
In fact, the company says medical professionals are three and a half times more likely to have a successful first stick when using the AccuVein system.
"It makes our job easier. It's less pokes for the patient. It's time-saving for the nurses. It's just made a huge difference," said Desantis.
Sparrow Hospital was able to purchase ten of these machines for its Lansing Campus thanks to a donation from the Sparrow Service Auxiliary. These machines are also in use at Sparrow Carson and Sparrow Clinton.
