In cases of shock, a venous cutdown or intraosseous infusion may be necessary.

Paramedics may perform intraosseous infusion in a cardiac arrest patient if no vein is clearly visible.

Intravenous catheters may be placed through burned skin if needed or intraosseous infusions may be used.

Over the years the venous cutdown procedure has become outdated by the introduction and recent prehospital developments of intraosseous infusion in trauma/hypovolemic shock patients.

Another company co-founded by Athanasiou is Vidacare based on Athanasiou et al.'s patents on intraosseous infusion.

Intraosseous infusion (IO) is the process of injecting directly into the marrow of a bone to provide a non-collapsible entry point into the systemic venous system.

FAST 1 adult intraosseous infusion system, Pyng Medical Corp. (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

In 2004, Vidacare received its first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for the EZ-IO Intraosseous Infusion System - the first battery-powered device to establish immediate vascular access using the IO space.

Products include the EZ-IO Intraosseous Infusion System, the OnControl Bone Marrow System and the OnControl Bone Access System, and applications include vascular access, emergency and disaster medicine, oncology and spinal surgery.

- Vidacare's first product, the EZ-IO Intraosseous Infusion System provides immediate vascular access for the delivery of essential medications and fluids, and is used by 90 percent of U.S. advanced life support ambulances, over half of US emergency departments,and the U.S. military.

This procedure has fallen out of favor with the development of safer techniques for central venous catheterization such as the Seldinger technique and the modified Seldinger technique, intraosseous infusion, as well as the use of ultrasound guidance for placement of central venous catheters without using the cutdown technique.