Syringe Pump Design

With the evolution of special care baby, intensive care, and coronary care units over the last decade, there has developed a need for greater accuracy in the control of increasingly potent infusions. The design of bedside syringe pump infusers that administer the contents of a syringe to a patient at a constant and predetermined rate will be considered in terms of their ergonomics, control, and safety. Syringe pump design has evolved over the past few years from simple mechanised forms of syringe driving to very sophisticated and precisely-controlled drive systems capable of high volumetric accuracy over a wide range of clinical conditions and sustained for long time periods. This has led to the development of new and critical forms of drug therapy. In addition, important progress has been made in the safety and reliability aspects of syringe pump design. Modern syringe pumps are expected to have fail-safe electronics to protect the patient in the event of a fault occurring. With the advent of modern microprocessor techniques, future syringe pumps can be expected to incorporate further sophisticated operational and safety enhancements, whilst remaining simple to operate. Typical safety enhancements could include the incorporation of a variable pressure sensor to protect against unwanted pressure build up in the IV line, the use of absolute linear encoding techniques for control and monitoring of the infusion, and the increasing use of self-tests and diagnostics to aid the user. Operational enhancements could include the ability to support pharmacokinetic techniques, as well as closed loop drug therapy and remote computer control. Whilst this suggests that infusion therapy might become too sophisticated for day to day use, comprehensive interactive instructions and diagnostic aids would contribute greatly to ease of use. Good user training will be of increasing importance to maximize the benefits of the advances in syringe pump design.