At each INS Annual Meeting, I am always looking forward to the exhibit hall. The exhibit hall was huge and to see every booths and exhibits, one needs a strategy to get through without missing any booth or presentation. My strategy is simple and that is…. to go down the numbered aisles and look around for those vendors on my list first, then visit those not on my list next. I am very grateful to all the vendors who were there whether they had something new to show or not because their products contribute greatly to patient care and safety. Their willingness to educate nurses is always appreciated.

Just like last year after the convention, I will highlight a few products. Again, as I always do, here’s my disclaimer –  there were many different products represented there and  as the owner of this blog, I reserve the right to point out the ones that caught my attention. For disclosure purposes, I was not paid to write this post  and have no relationship whatsoever with these companies, nor am I endorsing the products. This is my blog, my opinions and not of the Infusion Nurses Society and is just FYI.

• Decreasing blood exposure: There’s a big focus on mucocutaneous blood exposure and PIV  as evidenced by several exhibitor’s theater presentations. This is real, yet under reported by nurses. Many manufacturer’s have redesigned their current products to prevent this type of exposure. One of those products is the Introcan Safety 3 , a passive safety engineered device and a closed peripheral IV catheter system to prevent blood exposure.  Check it out…Introcan 3

• EZ-IV Warming unit: this is intended to warm factory sealed medical pads such as alcohol, povidone-iodine prior to use as prep for venipuncture. The theory here is the use of pre-warmed pads encourage vasodilation, facilitating vein access. Pads on this unit are heated to a maximum temperature of 130 F and a minimum of 121F.  The concept makes sense as heat does promote vein dilation upon application. I tried the heated swab on my arm, and it does give a warm soothing sensation upon application – moist heat at first then as the alcohol evaporates, the warmth goes away. I have good arm veins so I was skeptical whether it really dilated my veins. They didnt have any published studies at their booth and was told that the unit was used at a local hospital in Indianapolis – which is where I happen to live and they liked it. So I checked it out and here’s the pilot study…EZ-IV Pilot Study  Check this product. 

• Vein Detecting Devices: At the exhibit hall, there were several companies with vein detecting devices.   I blogged about this a few weeks ago…Wouldn’t it be nice...  I have received several emails  from that post asking for my recommendation. As I said before, you need get to know these products first before you purchase it. Here are two products to look at:
  • Accuvein 3000
  • Veinsite

One other important point I need to mention before purchasing a vein detecting device is to understand the type the “training” or inservice”  provided by the vendor. Many vendors will say they will provide training, only to find out that it just a hour or two inservice per device. Will that is not enough if you have several nurses who will be using the device?

Photo from INS Website / RichSchmittPhotography

I have  always enjoyed the exhibit hall at any conference. It is good to know the different products and choices available so one can make an informed decision based on the products themselves.