Cold Spring Harbor, NY, November 4, 2010 – AccuVein, the developer of the first non-contact, handheld vein illumination system, announced today that it had been awarded the maximum grant amount from the Qualifying Therapeutic Discover Project (QTDP) program.  This Federal grant program supports projects that show significant potential to produce new therapies, address unmet medical needs, and reduce the long-term growth of health care costs.

AccuVein’s AV300 helps healthcare professionals locate veins for blood draw, IV infusion and blood donation by projecting a pattern of light on patient’s skin that reveals the position of underlying veins.  This 10-ounce, hand-held device is available with a range of hands-free options so that it can quickly free the practitioner’s hands to perform the venipuncture.  It is the first and only system of its kind.

“Hospitals are adopting vein visualization as the standard-of-care for venipuncture as a tool to reduce error, reduce cost and increase patient satisfaction.” said AccuVein engineering vice president Joe Zott.  “Winning this grant will support our continued investment in delivering the best vein illumination system in the market.”

About AccuVein

AccuVein is a global leader in medical imaging solutions. Its breakthrough product, the AV300, allows health care professionals to see a map of peripheral veins on the skin’s surface with the goal of improving venipuncture and other vascular access procedures. The AV300 is the world’s only handheld, non-contact vein illumination solution. It is built on AccuVein’s proprietary technology as embodied in its growing patent portfolio that covers a broad range of imaging and medical diagnostic technologies. It is in use at more than 1000 hospitals and available for sale in 88 countries. For more information please visit www.accuvein.com

SOURCE Fenwal, LLC

LAKE ZURICH, Ill., Oct. 18 – Fenwal, LLC, a global medical technology company focused on improving blood collection, separation, safety and availability, announced today it has signed a three-year, exclusive agreement with AccuVein to sell, market and distribute the AccuVein AV300 vein illumination device to blood and plasma centers in North America.

The AccuVein AV300 is the first hand-held, non-contact, vein illumination device designed to assist medical professionals in locating veins for blood donation, injection and for starting patients on intravenous fluids.

Held about seven inches above the skin, the device detects hemoglobin in veins and projects a map of the veins on the skin’s surface. For medical professionals, donors and patients, this can make locating needle placement a much easier and more comfortable experience.

The AccuVein AV300 received the 2010 Medical Design Excellence Award, the premier awards program for the medical technology community, and was named a 2009 Best New Product for Pediatricians by Contemporary Pediatrics magazine.

“The response to the AccuVein AV300 in tests with U.S. blood centers was overwhelmingly positive,” said Dean Gregory, Fenwal senior vice president of Commercial Operations. “Staff and donors see this as an innovation that makes an immediate difference in donor comfort, while improving center productivity and increasing collections.”

In evaluations during two community blood drives, the device helped increase collections by reducing by 75 percent deferrals due to difficulty with vein location. In a recent AccuVein survey, eight out of 10 blood donors reported they would be more likely to donate if vein illumination was used.

“Fenwal is a trusted leader in transfusion medicine,” said Vinny Luciano, AccuVein vice president. “Fenwal’s broad knowledge and extensive reach across blood and plasma centers will help us assure all health care practitioners have access to the AccuVein illumination device and the benefits it provides to practitioners, patients and donors.”

About Fenwal

Fenwal, LLC is a global medical technology company focused on improving blood collection, filtration, separation, storage and transfusion to ensure the availability, safety and effectiveness of blood components. Fenwal is unique in the depth of its experience and commitment to transfusion medicine. The company offers the broadest range of products for the automated and manual collection of blood and blood components. Fenwal became an independent company in 2007, but its roots go back to 1949 with the founding of Fenwal Laboratories. Fenwal developed the first flexible, single-use container for blood collection, eliminating complications associated with glass containers and allowing blood to be separated into therapeutic components. Today, the company’s products and advanced collection and separation technologies are used to help treat patients on six continents. Fenwal, LLC is based in Lake Zurich, Illinois. For more information, please visit www.fenwalinc.com.

About AccuVein

AccuVein is a global leader in medical imaging solutions. Its breakthrough product, the AV300, allows health care professionals to see a map of peripheral veins on the skin’s surface with the goal of improving venipuncture and other vascular access procedures. The AV300 is the world’s only handheld, non-contact vein illumination solution. It is built on AccuVein’s proprietary technology as embodied in its growing patent portfolio that covers a broad range of imaging and medical diagnostic technologies. It is in use at more than 1000 hospitals and available for sale in 88 countries. For more information please visit www.accuvein.com

July 12, 2010   News Santé (Europe) – Dr. Erard de Hemricourt – Nuclear Medicine, Dunkirk, France

A few months ago, I wrote a paper on some technological innovations that could impact our way of practicing medicine. One of these, the AccuVein AV300, has recently been officially granted the right to be sold in France and after asking to the french company AVF Perimedical, we generously received the AV300 for a whole week of exhilarating testing.

 The Accuvein AV300 comes with a certain price tag that will limit its availability essentially to the medical world (mostly clinics and hospitals). So, don’t expect to stumble on it in your neighborhood drugstore. This technology is based on the emission of infrared and near-infrared light as laser waves that will allow the direct visualisation of the subcutaneous venous network. Depending on the presence (or absence) of oxygen in the hemoglobin, the red and infrared light will be more or less absorbed and the venous network located just under the skin will appear right in front of you. You just have to direct the light perpendicularly on the skin (with a pretty easy learning curve) et voilà. 

You need also to respect a certain distance between the device and the skin in order to increase the efficacy of the scanning.

 Upon receiving the AccuVein, we observed that the handling was very easy and no special training was needed to manipulate it. There are mainly 3 kinds of scanning modes depending more or less on the quality of the venous network and also on the patient himself (baby, adult, skinny, obese, …). During our test week, we used the AV300 on many patients mostly adults and none of them was very muscular. On the contrary, we had a lot of obese patients, sometimes with skin oedema and very difficult venous access. The first observations were very positive and most of the time, the patients (and some doctors also) believed it was science fiction ! After these first emotions, we analyzed the real medical impact and interest of the device.

 For all patients, the AccuVein helped us to locate easily, precisely and quickly the veins which were both visible and invisible to our eyes. As every member of our staff has a great deal of experience with patients, each of us used first his own fingers to locate the veins and in a second time the AV300. At the end of the week, we had the same conclusions. For the ‘easy’ patients, we don’t need the device because the veins are easy to see or to feel. Do not forget that even if the AV300 can ‘illuminate’ the subcutaneous veins, the ones located deeper in the skin remain invisible to the device and sometimes these one are the good veins to prick !

 But, from time to time, we cannot feel the veins and the patient has to be pricked two, three or even four times (by a different staff member). This is the situation when the AV300 helped us to quickly locate the difficult veins and avoid the often painful trials.

 To conclude, I just would say that after having used the AV300 for a whole week, it becomes  difficult to envision the future without it. This is not a simple toy or something for the geek. It is a real professional medical instrument that merits its place in each medical department.

Note: As of September 2011, the AV300 is now in over 1000 Hospitals!

Over 275 Hospitals Now Using the AccuVein AV300 Vein Finder

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. – AccuVein announced today that its groundbreaking AV300 vein illumination device has been installed in more than 275 hospitals throughout the United States, less than 12 months after the product began shipping.   Among the prestigious hospitals that have adopted the AV300 for venipuncture applications is Scottsdale Healthcare based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“Drawing blood or starting an IV on a child can be challenging because their veins may be difficult to locate. We take extra care with our pediatric patients and the AccuVein AV300 devices help us provide another personalized touch to aid in their comfort,” said Emily Shumway, RN, manager of pediatric services at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center.

The AccuVein AV300 helps healthcare professionals locate veins for blood draw, IV infusion and blood donation by projecting a pattern of light on patient’s skin that reveals the position of underlying veins.  This 10-ounce, hand-held device is available with a range of hands-free options so that it can quickly free the practitioner’s hands to perform the venipuncture.

“Patient satisfaction is front and center in the minds of hospital staff.” said AccuVein marketing vice president Vinny Luciano.  “Since venipuncture is the most common invasive medical procedure, it is crucial that hospitals are getting the combined benefit of improved patient care and cost savings by deploying the AV300 for vein visualization.”

In addition to hospitals, AccuVein sells to a wide variety of healthcare facilities such as blood donation centers, EMS facilities and blood labs around the world.  The AV300 is available for sale in more than 45 countries (see up-to-date list on the company website).

About AccuVein

AccuVein is a global leader in medical imaging solutions. Its breakthrough product, the AV300, allows health care professionals to see a map of peripheral veins on the skin’s surface with the goal of improving venipuncture and other vascular access procedures. The AV300 is the world’s only handheld, non-contact vein illumination solution. It is built on AccuVein’s proprietary technology as embodied in its growing patent portfolio that covers a broad range of imaging and medical diagnostic technologies. It is in use at more than 1000 hospitals and available for sale in 88 countries. For more information please visit www.accuvein.com

To see the AccuVein AV300 in action, please visit www.accuvein.com.

Cold Spring Harbor, NY, May 18, 2010 – AccuVein today announced it had signed an exclusive distribution agreement with the Medipath Division of Morepen Laboratories to sell the AV300 vein finder in India. With this new agreement AccuVein has now signed 30 distributors worldwide.

The AccuVein AV300 helps healthcare professionals locate veins for blood draw, IV infusion and blood donation by projecting a pattern of light on patient’s skin that reveals the position of underlying veins.  This 10-ounce, hand-held device is available with a range of hands-free options so that it can quickly free the practitioner’s hands to perform the venipuncture.

“India is a country of over 1 billion people where emphasis on quality healthcare continues to rise,” pointed out AccuVein VP of Marketing Vinny Luciano. “We are excited to have Morepen on board.  They have an established track record in providing high-quality medical products to hospitals and other healthcare providers in India, and the AV300 should help these facilities improve patient care and reduce costs.”

About AccuVein

AccuVein is a global leader in medical imaging solutions. Its breakthrough product, the AV300, allows health care professionals to see a map of peripheral veins on the skin’s surface with the goal of improving venipuncture and other vascular access procedures. The AV300 is the world’s only handheld, non-contact vein illumination solution. It is built on AccuVein’s proprietary technology as embodied in its growing patent portfolio that covers a broad range of imaging and medical diagnostic technologies. It is in use at more than 1000 hospitals and available for sale in 88 countries. For more information please visit www.accuvein.com

For more information on AccuVein’s AV300, please visit www.accuvein.com

About Medipath Division of Morepen Laboratories Limited

Recognizing the requirement of innovative and technologically advanced diagnostic products in India, Morepen created “Medipath” 8 years ago; an entity for marketing of medical devices and clinical diagnostic products.  Medipath focuses on exploring and developing the business with the core strategy of consistently offering unique and high end technologies to its customers, backed-up by an impeccable service and customer support system. In its past several years of operation, this division has created a niche for itself, in the medical diagnostic and equipment industry, by introducing many innovative and revolutionary clinical; home diagnostics and technology driven products in India. The product range in the Diagnostic segment includes Pregnancy test, Hepatitis test, HIV Test, Urine strips, Coagulation analysers and reagents, ELISA instruments and infectious marker kits, and a rapid Malaria detection kit “Care Start” (manufactured by Access Bio LLC, USA).

The Home Health range includes BP monitors (of various types), Blood Glucose Monitors, Nebulisers, Thermometers Weighing scales etc.

In line with their vision of introducing newer technologies and niche products in India, they secured the Exclusive Distribution rights for AccuVein AV300.

Patient Types

We are frequently asked by healthcare professionals about how the AV3000 works on various patient types. While people are all different below is a sample of how the device works on a range of patients.

Paramedic in Birmingham, AL

In my 29 years of service as a Paramedic, this is one of the few times that I have used a tool that improves patient outcomes, reduces the risk of infection, and provides cost savings. The AV300 AccuVein is a true lifesaver.”

Anesthesiology Dept at a Research Hospital

It is a win-win for everybody!”

Everybody loves it!”

ER Manager of a Florida Hospital

We use it every chance we get!”

Utah Hospital Nurse

I am sold, I love this thing.”

I think it is going to change the way we do venipunctures.”

Children’s Research Hospital – Anesthesia Department

Where is it – we need it!”

Other departments are jealous that we have the AV300.”

Medical Director of Vein Clinic

The patient was amazed and, quite frankly, so was I.”

South Carolina Hospital Lab Manager

I don’t endorse many products but the AV300 is easy to use and it works great.”

South Carolina Lab

We like it a lot because it doesn’t come into contact with the skin, it is easy to clean and easy to use!”

Missouri Blood Center – Donor Services

The AV300 is user-friendly and easy to carry.”

Phlebotomy Training Center

Students get such confidence using the AV300. They say “I think that’s the vein” and then they use the device to verify that, yes, that’s the vein.”

South Carolina Hospital Lab Manager

The AccuVein AV300 has allowed us to reduce 2nd sticks by 50%!”

Anesthesiology Dept at a Research Hospital

If I can spend 5 minutes putting in a line rather than 30 minutes you’ve improved my day.”

University Hospital Acute Care Lab – Technical Supervisor

Since we got the AV300 we haven’t been asked once to escalate the procedure to the vascular access specialty area.”