Military medical personnel have often said that one of the most immediate concerns on the battlefield is the ability to properly insert an IV into an injured soldier immediately after the wound occurs. This same thing has been said by civilian emergency medical personnel, like EMTs, of victims of car accidents or acts of violence. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (ML) began addressing this concern in 1994.

The Vein Viewer’s night-vision goggles enable medical professionals to see veins and arteries in poor lighting conditions and on patients whose veins are not easily visible.

How it Works

Through the research done by ML scientists and engineers, Vein Viewer technology was developed. This technology uses night-vision goggles equipped with special light filters, developed by the Air Force, that allow the viewer to see infrared light passing through the patient’s body, except in the areas that are blocked by blood moving through veins and arteries. As a result, medical professionals are able to see veins and arteries quicker, in poor lighting conditions, and on patients whose veins are not easily visible. Medical professionals having the ability to clearly and quickly see the veins saves the patients from being poked with a needle multiple times. This is especially helpful for newborn babies who are very sensitive to pain and also have extremely tiny veins. Additional experiments also proved that the needle beneath the skin would also be visible.