Israel's Vascular Technologies, founded in 1996 by CEO Eli Matalon, has developed an electronic device that can find a roll-away vein by beeping the moment the needle enters it.
Globes magazine reports that Matalon, who was a combat medic in the IDF, thought of the idea after realizing how difficult it was to insert a catheter into the vein of a soldier injured in the battlefield. Together with a team of eight engineers, he began developing the Vein Entry Indicator Device (VEID) in 1998. The device attaches to the back end of a catheter.
The VEID device comprises a pressure sensor, signal-processing unit, battery and miniature speaker. It operates by sensing the change in pressure when the needle penetrates a vein. The VEID then beeps within a tenth of a second, completing the procedure.
Since then, Vascular Technologies has obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Matalon says research conducted by his company at the Schneider Children's Medical Center, headed by Dr. Yaakov Katz, found that success rate for inserting a needle and catheter into children’s veins rose from 70% to 91% using the device. Among patients with hard-to-find veins, the success rate rose from 26% to 90%.
The VEID currently costs $120 per unit, and can be reused about 2,000 times. The cost of a VEID-catheter adaptor is an extra 20 cents.
Globes magazine reports that Matalon, who was a combat medic in the IDF, thought of the idea after realizing how difficult it was to insert a catheter into the vein of a soldier injured in the battlefield. Together with a team of eight engineers, he began developing the Vein Entry Indicator Device (VEID) in 1998. The device attaches to the back end of a catheter.
The VEID device comprises a pressure sensor, signal-processing unit, battery and miniature speaker. It operates by sensing the change in pressure when the needle penetrates a vein. The VEID then beeps within a tenth of a second, completing the procedure.
Since then, Vascular Technologies has obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Matalon says research conducted by his company at the Schneider Children's Medical Center, headed by Dr. Yaakov Katz, found that success rate for inserting a needle and catheter into children’s veins rose from 70% to 91% using the device. Among patients with hard-to-find veins, the success rate rose from 26% to 90%.
The VEID currently costs $120 per unit, and can be reused about 2,000 times. The cost of a VEID-catheter adaptor is an extra 20 cents.