Traditional methods to assess peripheral veins have relied exclusively on palpation of the vein lying under the skin. In many patients, t1he experienced inserter can easily locate veins that are not seen and determine their health by certain characteristics such as a hard, cordlike feeling. Palpation provides little information about the actual size of the vein and it is an educated guess about what size catheter the vein will accommodate. Until recently, there have been very few studies [...]
