A Low-Cost Smart Vein Viewer System

Venipuncture is the most common invasive medical procedure worldwide with an estimated 2.7 million routines conducted every day in the U.S. alone. Although a peripheral vein is accessible in a single attempt, studies reveal that up to one-third of attempts to access a vein fail the first time; as a result, inducing pain and discomfort to the patient. In this paper, we present a real-time and low-cost solution for vein visualization using near-infrared spectroscopy and image processing techniques in a mHealth environment to improve venipuncture success rate.