The National Kidney Foundation and Medicare both want to see the utilization of arteriovenous (AV) fistulas increase. While AV fistulas provide significant advantages over other vascular access methods, many times they pose a significant challenge: the ability to quickly pinpoint their location on the patient’s body and then successfully cannulate the fistula without damaging it.

Traditionally the process of finding the best site to cannulate fistulas has relied on the tactile skills of dialysis clinicians to “feel the vibration” or “thrill” as the turbulent blood flows through the fistula vein, many times deep within subcutaneous tissue. In addition to the challenge of finding the location of the fistula, many times the vein will “roll” during cannulation. If the proper cannulation site cannot be found, or if the fistula rolls, the result can be a “missed stick.” This has the potential to cause pain for the dialysis patient but can actually damage the fistula itself.

To address these challenges, CreatiVasc developed the FistulaFinder®, a proprietary single-use, inexpensive device that adds a visual dimension to locating a fistula. Now dialysis clinicians can SEE where the fistula is by depressing the compression ridge of the FistulaFinder® which causes the vein to fully engorge and become visible between the stabilization prongs of the device. These prongs also prevent the fistula from “rolling” – making the cannulation even simpler. Now you no longer need a tourniquet because the FistulaFinder’s compression ridge acts as a “mini-tourniquet” without the hassle or potential damage that a tourniquet poses. This is especially true for new, maturing fistulas.

Dialysis clinics can order the FistulaFinder® directly from our U.S. distributor, Henry Schein, Inc.