Veebot is a mechatronic venipuncture system that automatically finds a patient’s vein, inserts the needle, and performs a procedure. The goal of venipuncture process automation is to reduce errors and decrease venipuncture times.
This saves hospitals and clinics money, reduces the risk of injury to practitioners, and improves comfort and care for patients.
Veebot LLC was started in 2010 in Miami, Florida by a team of Stanford engineers and the president of a contract research organization. Now it is located in Mountain View, California. Veebot Blood Drawing Robot3Veebot is automating venipuncture through computer vision and robotics. It scans the patient's arm using a visual analysis capability to select the vein. The patient puts his/her arm through an archway to allow inflatable cuff pumps to restrict blood flow. An infrared light illuminates the inner elbow for a camera. Software matches the camera’s view and selects a likely vein. Ultrasound is used to confirm vein size and blood flowing. Finally, the robot aligns and inserts a needle. Veebot has developed autonomous, image-guided robotic needle insertion capabilities. Veebot will apply this to vascular access and biopsy needle insertion procedures to improve outcomes and give patients the care they deserve.
Veebot's core technology consists of tools designed to manipulate ordinary butterfly catheter devices and Vacutainer needles to start IVs and draw blood. To successfully automate these procedures we have developed a unique real-time vein viewing system that accurately suggests and selects preferred insertion sites.
Currently, Veebot's accuracy rate in selecting the best vein for insertion is 83%, which is about as good as a human. The designers want to improve the accuracy rate to 90% before clinical trials.
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