setup

IV Catheter Trainer — Setup

Unboxing, priming the reservoir, and placing your first catheter.

Audience: Technicians, instructors Updated 2026-09-22

This guide takes a new IV Catheter Trainer from the carton to a first successful stick. Plan about fifteen minutes.

What's in the box#

Item Quantity Notes
Trainer base 1 Serial number on the underside
Vein cartridge 1 installed, 1 spare TODO: part number
Fluid reservoir 1 Ships empty
Fill syringe 1 60 mL, luer lock
Simulated blood concentrate 1 bottle TODO: dilution ratio
Drain tray 1

Check the cartridge seal before you start

The installed vein cartridge is seated at the factory but can loosen in transit. If the retaining collar turns freely by hand, reseat it before priming — a loose cartridge leaks under pressure.

Setting up#

  1. Place the base on a flat surface with the drain tray underneath. The trainer is designed to be used on a bench, not held in the hand.
  2. Mix the simulated blood concentrate with water in the fill syringe. TODO: confirm ratio and volume.
  3. Attach the fill syringe to the priming port on the left side of the base.
  4. Push fluid in slowly until you see it reach the far end of the vein cartridge and the reservoir line is steady. Stop as soon as fluid reaches the return port — overfilling pressurises the cartridge and causes it to weep at the puncture sites.
  5. Disconnect the syringe and cap the priming port.
  6. Wipe the skin surface dry before the first stick.

Prime before every session, not every stick

Repeated priming between sticks over-pressurises the cartridge and shortens its life. One prime at the start of a session is correct.

Your first catheter#

  1. Palpate through the skin layer to find the vein — it sits about TODO mm below the surface and rolls slightly, as it does in a live patient.
  2. Advance the catheter at roughly a 20° angle until you feel the vein wall give.
  3. Confirm flashback in the hub.
  4. Thread the catheter and withdraw the stylet.
  5. Remove the catheter and apply light pressure to the puncture site for a few seconds — the self-sealing layer closes on its own.

Flashback is the check

If a student gets no flashback but the catheter is clearly in the vein, the reservoir is low. Top it up rather than re-priming from empty.

After a session#

  1. Flush the cartridge with clean water using the fill syringe.
  2. Drain into the tray via the return port.
  3. Wipe the skin surface and leave the trainer uncovered until dry.
  4. Store at room temperature, out of direct sunlight.

Never store the trainer with fluid in it

Simulated blood left standing in the cartridge grows biofilm within a few days and permanently clouds the vein. A cartridge stored wet is not covered by warranty.

Consumables and replacements#

Part Typical life Reorder
Vein cartridge TODO sticks TODO part number
Skin layer TODO sessions TODO part number
Simulated blood concentrate TODO TODO part number

Email support@dvm-iq.com with your serial number to reorder.

Next#

If something isn't working as described here, see IV Catheter Trainer — Troubleshooting.

Didn't solve it?

Email support@dvm-iq.com with your clinic name, the product, and what you've already tried.