Efficacy of Near-Infrared Vein Imaging for Difficult IV Placement

The objective of this project is to define the effectiveness and therefore the role of NIR vein finders in adult patients with difficult peripheral venous access. The specific objective of the proposed randomized controlled trial is to test the clinical success rate of placing peripheral venous catheters in 'difficult' access patients using traditional peripheral venous catheter placement compared to two established methods utilizing NIR vein imaging. The investigators hypothesize that the capability to successfully place lasting peripheral venous catheters is increased with the adjunct of the imaging technology, reducing the number of failed needle sticks, reducing the number of peripheral venous catheters placed throughout a patient's hospital stay, and reducing the need for more invasive catheters such as PICC lines.