Vein Viewer

High-Tech Device Makes It Easy To Locate Hard-To-Find Veins

Using a high -tech device placed on top of the skin, doctors can now see veins inside your body. The device is called the Vein Viewer and will benefit many patients, including children and cancer patients. It also works well for spider veins. Debbie Andersen, 52, is a breast cancer survivor. But after going through chemotherapy, her veins didn't survive the trauma.

"After the chemotherapy I did not have a port at the time. I could only use my right arm. So they pretty much burnt out all the veins," said Andersen.

Now she gets her blood taken every three months.So it can be difficult and painful finding a vein. That's where the Vein Viewer comes in.

Endovascular Surgeon William Julien uses the Vein Viewer in his practice.

"The Vein Viewer is breakthrough technology, that uses an infrared camera to see the veins immediately under the skin, that you can't see with the naked eye, but because of the heat in the blood vessel, you can see with the infrared camera. The computer processes that information and projects an LCD image back onto the skin surface," said Dr. Julien.

The Vein Viewer also works well for locating spider veins, something Michele Guarnari of Coral Springs could have used a few years ago.

"The spider veins are superficial and they were injected. But a few years later, they came back, and mostly because they couldn't see the deeper veins that were feeding the superficial veins," said Guarnari.

The Vein Viewer allows doctors to locate deeper veins, cutting off the supply to those superficial spider veins. This technology may help patients avoid duplicating procedures and eliminate unnecessary pain.

Homeland Security is also investigating this technology for use as an identification device, since no two people have the same vein pattern. To contact Dr. William Julien about the Vein Viewer call 954-975-6161 or visit his Web site at www.southfloridavascular.com.