Tactical Night Vision Company is the exclusive distributor for BattleView, a system that is going to save a LOT of lives in the field.
For the first time, a medic can now stick an IV into a vein with the use of a NVD, but without the fear of missing a vein. This patented vascular illumination device uses IR energy to penetrate tissue and make the vein “glow” as seen in the attached picture.
Tags: TNVC
GENIUS!
Agreed! That looks like something that could be useful in for first responders on the civilian side too. Even in the civilian hospitals nurses will curse trying to find a vein. Getting a blood draw is the times I miss the military and the VA. At the VA those ornery techs can draw a pint in under 30 seconds!
Not only is this a genius idea for Combat Medicine, I know a few “Phlebotomists” who could use something like this,instead of multiple sticks,much discomfort,and large bruises on your arm(s),making one look like a junkie until it gets better >:(
Looks like something Bud over at Skedco had cooking earlier this summer. His was an IR attachment for a laryngoscope so you could clearly see tube placement under NVG, it also had an attachment that you could place on the handle to view veins. Not sure how long TNVC has been working on this though.
I guess I’m super low-speed, but how many people are actually needing to put in an IV under full black-out? It seems something like an IV could wait until blackout was no longer necessary, if there was that much of an enemy presence. Cool idea none-the-less.
If it’s an emergency why delay care? if a person is volume depleted this could help getting access when a vein is difficult to palpate. Granted you could go IO or even do a venous cutdown but its certainly nice to have options.
It’s pretty dark for hours. Guys can bleed out way before the sun comes up. If someone has been wounded and already lost a lot of blood before the wound can be stabilized, the medic needs to get fluids into him ASAP. Can’t wait for the sun to rise.
+1 Ranger-iffic!
How is this any different than using a SureFire with the bezel against the PT’s skin to help find a vein? I used that trick years and years ago (with the old 6P) and was just mimicking old timers who I learned it from. SureFire’s old website even had a little text-blurb from a pediatrician about using his 6P to help find veins for IV insertion.
Is swapping out an incandescent or LED white light bulb for an IR illumination source really revolutionary enough to be patent worthy? Seems sort of obvious.
Or is Battle Vision an entirely new way of doing things utilizing IR illumination? That pic does look a heck of a lot more well lit than the SureFire trick…
Good point, the Skedco way was exactly as you described. I’m curious to see what the difference is.
Admittedly, this is a device for the high speed guys. In fact, it has been used by a specific Tier 1 unit for the past 2 years. The big difference in BattleView versus a white light is simple: a white light is a white light. If you’ve ever been in combat in the desert (or simply been in the desert period), you know that white light travels forever and is easily seen from incredible distances. This is especially true on mountain tops. You’d be very surprised how far away a small 6P can be seen.
BattleView uses the same principal as the Surefire light trick. It allows the medic to get a good stick in complete black-out, though. Small SOF teams need to worry about stealth way more than larger units. A 4-12 man element of highly trained operators can be way more invisible than a platoon or company of Joes or Marines. But, they need to take way more precaution from getting compromised because they are usually operating behind enemy lines and cut off from immediate support. While nobody wants to get compromised, a larger force can bring much more firepower to bear.
BattleView is just one more of those products that can help save lives.
This is amazing!
I want this for my medics before our next deployment! Got to chat up the S4!