3D Printed Vein Finders

For medical professionals who need to insert the IV, finding the veins is sometimes a big challenge, especially in children. This is what many nurses face every day in the hospitals and in other medical clinics around the world, especially those assigned in the children’s ward.

Alex Stanciu, a military automotive engineer, has a nurse girlfriend who is always stressed in finding the patient’s veins. She is new to the profession and she is still in the process of adapting to the pressure. Alex, on the other hand, is passionate in CAD designing and in the innovation of the 3D printing. He wanted to help his girlfriend by coming up with a 3D printing design that will be useful in his girlfriend’s profession.

Alex finally completed the design and it was a winner. He also posted a video of his design and many of those who were able to watch them commented positively. The device that he designed is a battery-operated one, which is very affordable for the users. A simple switch on it will turn it on or off easily. It has 11 LED lights, and once they are on and placed on the wrist or arm of the patient, the veins will be easy to find. This is a simple way for the nurses and medical professionals to insert IV to the patients.

According to Alex Stanciu, this device is designed to make vein finding less stressful, especially when the veins are deep or they are too small to find. He said that he designed it to be patient-friendly, without the need for the use of blue tape and rubbing alcohol, and that it will not warp whenever it is printed on PLA. This is a very efficient medical device, especially on countries where equipment is limited and hospitals do not afford the cost of similar devices.

When Stanciu designed this device, he made it a point to keep it affordable to many medical professionals. He also provided a list of the needed materials in making the device in his Instructables. Aside from that, he also provided a video on how it is done, from the 3D printing down to the assembling of the parts, including the soldering of the LED lights and how the batteries are placed.

Stanciu may have gained a lot from the profit if he chose to sell it, but instead, he made it available online for free to anyone who wants to make his own 3D printed vein finder.

This 3D printed vein finder is a very handy device, especially now that the world is flooded with different illnesses and diseases that need intensive medical treatments. It is a good thing that it can be downloaded and accessed all over the world and at a very affordable cost of materials. With the advancement of the 3D printing technology nowadays, more of these devices are expected to be designed and developed to further help the medical institutions and all the other industries that need the innovation of such system.