Horn, a doctor of chiropractic, has been selected for inclusion in the 1992-93 edition of Who's Who in American Inventors. The recognition came about as a result of Horn's invention of the Vena-Ease, what he says is a more comfortable and easier way of drawing human blood for testing.
"It reduces pain and trauma to the patient during blood draws," according to Horn, seated in this office at the Horn Back & Neck Pain Center on Huntley Road. The concept for the Vena-Ease started to materialize in 1987, according to Horn, of Sleepy Hollow. Horn explains that, with the conventional needle in the vein, the device is jarred during multiple blood draws, or the needle is jabbed farther in and/or to the side, aggravating
soreness. The resulting pain, in turn, steels the aversion of some people to being "needled."
The 34-year-old points out that his puncture apparatus has a modification that provides for a spring-loaded assembly within the tube. The assembly then provides for simplified removal of the blood-filled tube. Latches, according to the Horn center director, release the assembly, forcing the tube out of the puncture mechanism. 'This minimizes the pulling on the needle and eases pain," says Horn, who was born in Chicago and grew up in Streamwood.
Matthew Perrone Jr., a patent attorney from Algonquin, guided the concept through the paperwork, and Horn was granted U.S. Patent No. 4,917,101 on April 17, 1990. It's the first invention for Horn, who got into the chiropractic field by accident. "I've got a few more ideas" for inventions, says Horn, who declined to divulge his thoughts.

The father of two young boys, Horn spent two years at Elgin Community College after graduating from St. Edward High School
in Elgin. He received a bachelor of science of in biology in 1979 from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. While in college, Horn injured his upper back lifting weights. His father suggested he make an appointment with a chiropractor. "I was reluctant," recalls Horn, who, at the time, was planning a career as an eye doctor.
"You hear so many negative things" about chiropractors. But the chiropractor "helped
me out... I was impressed," notes Horn, who afterward switched career paths.
In 1983, he received two degrees—a bachelor of science in human biology and a doctorate of chiropractic—from the National College of Chiropractic in Lom-
bard. He worked for three months in a chiropractic clinic, and then took over one in Forest Park and ran it for 1 1/2 years. The Horn center opened for business in December 1984 in East Dundee and moved to Carpentersville this January. Two brothers are associated with Horn here. Peter, 32, is also a chiropractor and Steve, 33, is the office administrator.
The Vena-Ease hasn't been marketed yet, but the prospects are there, according to Horn. Before it gets to the manufacturing stage, it will have to be tested and win FDA approval, according to Horn. It could be used by any medical professional, including a chiropractor, who draws blood.
"We may need the test results to determine, for instance, what is the cause of fatigue and how we can best treat the patient."

Meet Dr. Daniel P. Horn: husband, father of two, business owner, chiropractor and, most
recently, inventor. Horn's five-year project, the Vena-Ease, a modification blood drawing device, is steadily working its way to reality.
"The concept originated because of the complexity of doing multiple draws, taking several different samples from the same
vein," the Sleepy Hollow resident said. Horn said today's method of drawing blood for several samples often requires replacing
tubes while the device is still inserted in the patient's arm.
In general this concept works well, except that, Horn said, "When you remove the tube from the puncturing device it has a tendency to jam the needle further into the vein or into the
arm; or, the needle could be pulled out of the arm completely, causing the need for another
puncture."
Horn said his inspiration for developing the Vena-Ease was his patients. "No one likes being stuck with a needle, but sometimes it has to be done. I think it's going to make it easier for the patient, he said.
Horn's Vena-Ease is designed to eliminate the clumsiness of switching tubes during a blood
draw, as well as provide an easier system for performing the draw. The device, according to Horn's patent documents listed with the United States Patent Office, will minimize the pain many patients associate with having blood drawn.
Horn said Vena-Ease works much the same as the traditional blood drawing device, but in or-
der to facilitate a smoother tube transition, it has a small spring which eases the filled tube away from the patient's arm and allows an empty tube to be inserted, with little or no discomfort to the patient.
Horn said he developed Vena-Ease after years of performing the procedure, both in school and for his chiropractic practice in Carpentersville. "In school we would practice blood draws and a lot of the students, the future doctors, did not want to do the multiple draws because it was so hard to manipulate the tubes and not displace the needle," he said.Horn, who works with the spine, muscles, joints and nerves, said he often has to get blood samples from patients in order to make a diagnosis. In these cases, a blood sample is
taken to supply information regarding things such as anemia or a glucose problem which will affect the way treatment is administered.

Although the device is still only a series of detailed diagrams and sketches, Horn envisions Vena-Ease to be used universally. He said a company has expressed some interest in working with him to manufac-
ture the device, but couldn't speculate as to when it would be available. Horn began working on Vena-Ease in 1987. The patented design evolved from several early sketches and hand-made mock ups. The U.S. Patent Office in Arlington, Va., rejected Horn's original patent request in 1989, said Horn's attorney, Mathew R.P. Perrone Jr. of Algonquin. Perrone said that is common with a first-time request. "You have to understand, a patent officer says nothing is patentable, but a patent attorney says everything is patentable," he said. Horn finally gained a patent in April 1990. He now has exclusive rights to Vena-Ease until April 17, 2007, at which time his patent will expire. Pen-one said patents are not renewable unless the inventor can prove some new and useful improvement to the original design.
"It is up to the inventor to prove that he's entitled to the patent," Perronesaid. According to Perrone, there are approximately 120,000 patent applications filed in the United States each year, but only 60,000 are granted. Since the issuance of the first U.S. patent in 1789, for a procedure to make pot ash, more than 5 million patents have been granted. Horn said it is very satisfying to watch his dream come to fruition.
Horn offers some advice to other aspiring inventors: "Follow your heart and your dream. Don't let somebody tell you something is impossible just for the sake of saying it can't be done. There are applica-
tions for a lot of things that at face value don't appear." "Something that has somewhat dropped out of our society is the creativity, the thinking process and the dreaming process," said Horn.
But for Horn, creativity and ingenuity are just a part of his everyday procedures. Horn heads a chiropractic practice in Carpentersville that is staffed by Horn and three other doctors of chiropractic, including his brother, Peter. They typically see between 300 and 350 patients a week.Horn hopes that his invention will offer a better, safer and easier approach to multiple blood draws. In the meantime, he's busy working on several other new projects, but, like the eccentric make-believe movie inventors, his projects are classified top secret until the right moment for unveiling.