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Founded in November 2006, ActiVein is developing an elegant dual-action IV catheter that can enable both fluid infusion and blood withdrawal from the same vein.

IV therapy is the mainstay of modern medicine. In the United States, the IV catheter (the "Hospital IV" line) is placed in more than 25 million patients per year to allow access for medication, fluids and nutrition. Patients on IV therapy usually require blood sampling for laboratory analysis at least once a day. The blood samples are obtained by venipuncture - the medical term for sticking a needle in a vein.

For patients, venipuncture is a painful and traumatic experience. For healthcare workers, it is a time consuming task, which can take between 2 to 5 minutes per patient. It can also be difficult to locate suitable veins and it can be dangerous as it places workers at risk for accidental needlestick injury. Each year in the US, 800,000 healthcare workers suffer from a needlestick and sharps injury, and 1,000 contact potentially life-threatening infections.

ActiVein's IV catheter improves patient comfort, healthcare efficiency and healthcare safety by eliminating the need for venipunctures after IV catheter insertion.