Real Time Vein Detection SYstem

Project Title

Real Time Vein Detection SYstem

Project Area of Specialization Biomedical EngineeringProject Summary Summary:

In medical lab testing, a quick and least-vulnerable selection of peripheral subcutaneous veins for collecting blood specimens or cannulation is still challenging for the phlebotomists. Although, Venipuncture is currently employed for the purpose of drawing blood in the diagnostic process or peripheral cannulation for the treatment of intravenous routes of the patients. However, improper or unsuccessful Venipuncture due to repeated insertion attempts and catheter-related complications can cause patient’s distress, infections in children, permanent damage to the vein, and frustration to the clinical lab workers. Therefore, the Vein finder, which can put on view the real-time venous image under the patient’s skin, would assist the phlebotomists in locating the vein patterning and prevent the pre-analytical errors.

Our final year project demonstrates a prototype of a real-time vein finder based on visualization technology assisted by near-infrared radiation (NIR). A vein detector as a trans-illuminating device has purposed to visualize the superficial veins through the NIR. Due to unique characteristics of NIR, such as the penetration of the NIR into biological tissue to a depth of about 3 mm, exactly where the veins are located. NIR imaging technologies can provide images of subcutaneous veins through propagation, absorption, reflection, and scattering in the various layers of the skin. The optimal design of the proposed device is capable of displaying the image on the screen as well as the images are back-projected onto the skin of the patients with the help of a projector system. Therefore, our proposed design can be the most efficient way to enhance the venipuncture process's safety and accuracy, lessen the anxiety and stress levels among the patients, and increase the donation comforts and efficiency levels.

Project Objectives Objective:

Intravenous access is the main challenge that clinicians, practitioners, and students face during sample collection for laboratory testing and performing cannulation. The main objective is to design a portable and efficient vein finder device to visualize the vessel's maps beneath the skin of the patients having difficulty with intravenous access, illuminating all veins to diagnose the associated disorders or diseases. By integrating the NIR imaging system with the projector system, this device can be preferably designed to view the veins on the monitor screen in real-time or show the vessels on patients' skin directly as shown in Fig.1.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                       

                                Figure 1: Integrated units of Vein finder

Project Implementation Method Implementation Method:

The proposed idea was demonstrated to the final-year-project evaluation committee of the Biomedical Engineering (BME) Department's faculty members at UET Narowal Campus. The committee suggested a few corrections to continue work on "Real-time Vein Finder." The implementation of work is carried out under the supervision of Dr. Salman Ajmal, who is serving as an Assistant professor in the BME department. Before working on the project, a proposal was written and submitted to the supervisor. Subsequently, a further literature survey was carried out, and working on the Software part started. The circuit design was simulated on Proteus Design Suite in the first phase. Python, an open-source software, was used to accomplish video processing. The hardware assembly was realized by completing the software part in the second phase. After the market survey, the components are purchased and assembled. Presently, we are in the integration stage of hardware and software parts, and then accuracy will be tested on the various patients

Benefits of the Project Benefits:

According to the reported studies, approximately 80% of hospitalized patients receive intravenous therapy as a routine procedure for clinical testing. During the intravenous access, sometimes the venipunctures are not performed correctly, which may cause severe infections and damage to veins. Additionally, suppose the vein is not visible, especially in old-aged and obese people. In that case, multiple attempts may be needed, leading to severe pain that can be incredibly stressful and devastating for patients. Several factors contribute to it, such as age, health condition, environmental conditions, and practitioner experience. A practical solution to reduce anxiety among patients and to make venipuncture safe and accurate is the use of vein visualization techniques. Due to the importance of venipuncture for clinical testing, donations, and medical research, this technology aids in the vein tracking process of phlebotomists.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable Technical Details:

The proposed system consists of hardware and software parts.

Hardware Implementation:

In the proposed method, the person's skin is exposed to the near-infrared radiations of wavelength 860nm transmitted from an array of 5 LEDs. Blood in the veins absorbs significantly more NIR light, scatters it in the forward direction, and appears dark, while the skin and subcutaneous fat scatter it in the backward direction and appears lighter. In order to extract the venous structure of the hand, we employed NIR light and a few images processing tools. A raspberry pi 3 model B coupled with a 5MP night vision camera is used as an image acquisition tool to obtain real-time images of the skin illuminated with NIR. Afterward, the raw data will be carried to a computer, where it will be filtered and processed before being viewed on a monitor. The processed image is then projected back onto the skin with the help of a projector.

                           

 
                                                            Figure 2: Block Diagram representation and integration of hardware 

Software implementation:

The vital data processing techniques such as image pre-processing, segmentation, and morphological operations are performed on the image using python. The steps involved in executing the software part are shown in Fig.3.

                                                                                      

             Figure 3: Sequence of methodological steps in the execution of software. 

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry HealthOther IndustriesCore Technology OthersOther TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for PeopleRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	37238
Arduino UNO	Equipment	1	2000	2000
Raspberry Pi 1B	Equipment	1	3000	3000
Prototype Board	Equipment	1	100	100
Raspberry PI IR night Vision Camera 5MP	Equipment	1	5000	5000
IR LEDs	Equipment	6	10	60
Connector with pins	Equipment	2	14	28
Projector	Equipment	1	20000	20000
Veroboard	Equipment	1	100	100
IR LEDs	Miscellaneous	5	10	50
SD Card 32 GB	Equipment	1	1500	1500
Ethernet	Equipment	1	100	100
Solder	Miscellaneous	1	450	450
Battery	Equipment	2	250	500
Battery	Miscellaneous	1	250	250
Resistors	Equipment	6	50	300
Jumper Wires	Equipment	1	200	200
USB Cable	Equipment	1	200	200
Sheet	Equipment	1	400	400
Arduino UNO	Miscellaneous	1	2000	2000
Stand	Equipment	1	1000	1000