A group of UTSA biomedical engineering students has developed an infrared medical camera which will help nurses find veins easier when it is time to insert injection needles, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Dr. Teja Guda, the student's teacher, says the invention, called 'InfraVein' has received a $50,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.
"We are very excited, because this is actually an undergraduate program which has taken on a life of its own," he told News Radio 1200 WOAI's Megan Bishop. "It is always nice to work with the enthusiastic students because they come up with these brilliant ideas, and seeing them come to fruition is a thrill for any instructor."
The students say that in real world clinics, finding a vein for an injection is often difficult, depending on the patient's physiology. InfraVein will take a photograph of the area of the body to help locate the vein, reducing the likelihood that multiple pricks will be needed.
Dr. Guda says there are still some challenges that will need to be overcome.
"Different peopel want different things from the experience," he said. "The nurses want to do things quickly, the patients want things to be as painless as possible, and there is always a question of who is paying for it."
Two of the students will travel to Boston later this month to test InfraVein with 100 possible customer interviews.