Patent ID: 8391960

Claim:
A miniature vein enhancer comprising: a single laser configured to emit a beam of light at a selective wavelength permitting differential absorption by blood and surrounding tissue; a beam steering assembly configured to receive and transmit said beam of laser light in a selected pattern directly onto a three-dimensional body target area and thereby form a visual contrast between one or more subcutaneous blood vessels and the surrounding tissue of the target area, said visual contrast being formed directly on the three-dimensional body target area to be perceivable thereon by the naked eye, said visual contrast comprising differing amounts of reflected laser light by one or more blood vessels absorbing more of said selective wavelength of laser light to create one or more darker areas identifying locations of the one or more blood vessels, and more light being reflected by the tissue surrounding the one or more blood vessels to create lighter areas; a photo detector configured to be responsive to said reflected laser light and to generate a detector output based on a received instantaneous representation of said visual contrast formed by said photo detector of said reflected laser light; a detection circuit configured to receive said detector output and to generate a control output therefrom; a power supply configured to provide power to said single laser and further configured to receive said control output; wherein when said detection circuit detects changes in the amplitude of light in said instantaneous representation corresponding to a blood vessel being detected, said detection circuit is configured to transmit a control output such that power is increased to said single laser by said power supply to thereby increase an intensity of said emitted beam of laser light to improve visibility of said one or more veins; and wherein when said detection circuit detects no changes in said amplitude in said instantaneous representation corresponding to no blood vessel being detected, said detection circuit is configured to transmit a control output such that power is decreased to said single laser by said power supply to thereby decrease an intensity of said emitted beam of laser light to be dimly visible but sufficient for further detection.