The 4 Best Infrared Vein Finder Devices

A portable vein finder light is one of the best tools for every nurse, phlebotomist, medical professional, and caregiver.

When you use a simple, portable light for finding veins – you can save time, reduce waste of materials (needles, syringes, etc), and most importantly:

You can reduce the pain, stress, and trauma experienced by patients with hard-to-find veins – especially the elderly, the dark-skinned, children, and babies.

We’ve found the 4 BEST and most affordable portable vein locators (and the best paramedic vein glasses) of 2024.

We’ve included pros and cons, and where you can find them for the lowest price – to help you make the procedure safer and most comfortable.

How Much Does a Portable Vein Finder Cost?

The cost of portable vein illuminators can vary depending on the brand, model, and features.

Generally, the price range can be anywhere from $25 (simple LED flashlights) to $600 (dark skin transilluminators).

Some factors that may affect the price include image quality, vein detection technology, battery life, portability, and additional accessories or software.

👉 In a hurry? 

See our top 4 picks compared, and below you’ll find our vein finder reviews, how to choose, and the best accessories.

Vein Finder	Bottom Line	LEDs	Price
Veinlite LEDX	🥇Best Overall	24 orange LEDs 8 red LEDs	✅ $645 on Amazon
Veinlight EMS Pro	Clinically Proven	12 orange LEDs 4 near infrared LEDs 8 white	✅ $332 on Amazon
Wee Sight	Best Pediatric	Infrared	✅ $101 at Medex
Venoscope Transilluminator II	With 2 Power Levels	Infrared	✅ $269 on Amazon

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How Do Vein Finders Work?

A hospital-grade vein detector emits infrared rays via LED bulbs.

Oxygen and hemoglobin molecules readily absorb infrared light (invisible to the human eye).

When you apply an active infrared vein locator on the skin – the blood vessels become highly visible to the naked eye because the absorbed light in the hemoglobin makes veins seem darker in contrast with the surrounding tissue.

(You can see the research and history of vein illuminators here)

Vein Finder Light Benefits

Any medical professional who performs venipuncture and cannulation – knows that some people have veins that are hard to detect.

Statistics published by hospitals show that without a vein light, at least 25% of all patients go through more sticks, which is painful, stressful, and reduces the safety of the procedure.

Here are the benefits of using a vein finder light:

• Proven Increased visibility of veins
• The infrared vein finer is noninvasive and painless
• Avoiding unnecessary pain and stress for the patient (and caregiver)
• Reducing waste of needles, syringes, PICC, and midline trays
• Time-saving

How to Choose an Infrared Vein Finder Device

To choose the best vein finder device for your needs, consider these important questions:

1. Is the Vein Finder For Children/Babies or Adults?

Generally, most red light vein visualization devices are effective for both children and adults. However, some are designed to use only with adults or babies.

2. Do You Need to Illuminate Facial Veins?

Some portable vein light devices are not capable of detecting small facial veins. If you need to locate facial veins, this is a device that fits this purpose.

More important factors to check:

• Battery life – A device with a long battery life is ideal for healthcare workers who need to use the device for extended periods.
• Portability – Consider the size and weight of the device. A portable device is ideal for people who need to move around frequently.

The 4 Best Portable Vein Finders (2024)

Through our research (which included consulting with nurses), here are the 4 best vein lights for caregivers, nurses, doctors, paramedics, and anyone who needs to draw blood accurately and without unnecessary pain.

1. Veinlite EMS Pro – Clinically Proven

The Veinlite Transilluminator was created to allow healthcare providers and EMS technicians to find veins in the limbs and scalp.

It is hand-held, portable, and can be used with both adults and children (comes with a specially designed adapter to find veins in pediatric patients).

The Veinlite Pro was proven to increase the quality of care in pediatric and neonatal cases:

The Pediatric Emergency Department of the Children’s Hospital in Boston verified that the Veinlite increased first-attempt IV access.

To use it, you simply dim the room lights, turn the unit on, and apply it directly to the skin at a perpendicular angle.

Scan the skin to find a darkened vein and map the surrounding area for networks and the best venipuncture site.

Here’s a Veinlight video with a nurse demonstrating how she uses it:

Use the Veinlite for:

• Mapping superficial veins
• Varicose veins imaging
• Identifying spider veins

Veinlite Pros

• Lightweight, portable, and ready to use
• Built-in white exam light mode
• Comes with sanitizing accessories (disposable covers) and eye protection (light shield)
• You don’t need a tourniquet
• 5-year warranty
• Relatively low price

Cons

• No battery charger. However, even if you use it several times a day, the batteries will last for at least 2 months.
• It May not work for dark skin with deep veins. The alternative (better but more expensive) is right below.

✅ Available on Amazon ($332)

2. Veinlite LEDX – Best Overall

The Veinlite LEDX has the largest ring diameter on this list, is being used by over 70,000 healthcare professionals, and boasts a 93% first-attempt success rate.

It can find difficult veins even through dark skin and for people who are obese, with its 32 bright LEDs embedded around its large opening.

Another unique and cost-effective quality is the rechargeable battery, which lasts up to 2.5 hours of continuous use per charge and doesn’t require changing the batteries like most portable vein finders.

Its unique design stretches the skin, acts as a tourniquet, and anchors the vein.

It’s not just a glorified LED torch.

The higher price is the only user complaint you’ll find, but it doesn’t stop nurses around the world from buying it, due to its effectiveness and ease of use.

Veinlite LEDX Pros

• Anchors the vein and stretches the skin for a 1-stick performance
• Rechargeable battery that lasts for months
• Largest ring diameter
• 32 Powerful LEDs
• Works for dark skin, children, and obese patients

Cons

• Expensive
• Does not guarantee to find a vein 100% of the time

✅ Available on Amazon ($655)

3. Venoscope Transilluminator II – with 2 Power Levels

The Venoscope II vein finder machine is a lightweight, portable LED vein light (near-infrared), with FDA 510k approval, and claims to work for dark-skinned, elderly, and overweight people.

To use it, you prepare the patient (tourniquet, etc.) and dim the light source a bit to a point where the vein light performs best.

If you see the vein as a sharply defined line, it’s near the surface, if it’s fuzzier, it’s deep.

There are 2 power levels to choose from.

Venoscope Pros

• Lightweight and portable
• 2 power levels for different applications
• Has a low battery indicator
• Doesn’t heat too much even after 15 minutes of continuous use

Cons

• Can not locate deeper veins
• The small area makes it difficult to manipulate both the light and the needle at the same time

✅ Available on Amazon ($269)

4. Wee Sight – Best Pediatric Vein Finder

A pediatric vein transilluminator is a great tool to decrease babies’ and toddlers’ pain when drawing blood or starting IVs.

The Wee Sight tiny vein finder device is shaped so the clinician can easily position it around the baby’s tiny limbs, and can be seen in many pediatric care units.

The vein mapper wavelength: It uses high-intensity LED bulbs (infrared light – 629 nm) to illuminate the little ones’ veins.

It is made to lie flat on a surface to allow you to drape the baby’s arm or leg over it. It is Shaped to position easily around babies’ tiny limbs, and the curved surface of it is a definite plus.

The LEDs do not heat up and will not hurt babies’ and toddlers’ tender skin.

Pros

• LEDs run for years with no problem
• Small enough to be used inside an incubator
• Lightweight – only 4 ounces
• The curved shape helps to stabilize the infant’s hand/foot
• can also be used for thin-skinned adults
• Works without a Tourniquet

Cons

• Relatively pricey (for a small device) – but works as promised
• May not work on dark skin

✅ Available on Amazon ($130), and at Medex ($101)

Can You Use a Flashlight to Find Veins?

Yes, a flashlight can be used to find veins. Some medical professionals and paramedics have reported using a bright flashlight to help locate veins when starting an IV or drawing blood.

The technique involves pressing a bright flashlight against the skin to illuminate the veins, making them more visible.

While specialized vein finder devices are available, some individuals have found success using regular flashlights with high color rendering index and low-heat LED lights.

As seen in this post, there are vein finder lights that use red LED light to illuminate the skin and find veins, making them appear as shadows or dark lines. These devices are typically used in dark or low-light conditions for vein visualization.

Conclusion

In this guide, you’ve seen the best of both passive and active (infrared) vein detectors and where you can get them for an affordable price.

After days of research and consulting with nurses, we’ve found that Veinlite sells some of the best, most effective, and easiest to use on the market.

For adults and children, we recommend the Veinlite EMS Pro. The runner-up is Venoscope II.

For babies and toddlers, we recommend the popular Wee Sight.

As for passive paramedic vein finders, we recommend the Vino Oxy-Iso.

Any questions? comments? let us know in the comment section below.

To your health and happiness,

Meital

References

Pan CT, Francisco MD, Yen CK, Wang SY, Shiue YL. Vein Pattern Locating Technology for Cannulation: A Review of the Low-Cost Vein Finder Prototypes Utilizing near Infrared (NIR) Light to Improve Peripheral Subcutaneous Vein Selection for Phlebotomy. Sensors (Basel). 2019;19(16):3573. Published 2019 Aug 16.

Juric S, Flis V, Debevc M, Holzinger A, Zalik B. Towards a low-cost mobile subcutaneous vein detection solution using near-infrared spectroscopy. ScientificWorldJournal. 2014;2014:365902.

N.J. Cuper, J.C. de Graaff, B.J. Hartman, R.M. Verdaasdonk, C.J. Kalkman, Difficult arterial cannulation in children: is a near-infrared vascular imaging system the answer?†, British Journal of Anaesthesia, Volume 109, Issue 3, 2012,