Infusion Pumps
Infusion is a method of delivering fluids, medication or nutrients into a patient's circulatory system, generally used intravenously, although subcutaneous, arterial and epidural infusions are occasionally used. Infusion pumps are typically found in hospitals and other point of care environments.
Infusion pumps can administer fluids in ways that would be impractically expensive or unreliable if performed manually by nursing staff. For example, they can administer as little as 0.1 mL per hour injections (too small for a drip), injections every minute, injections with repeated boluses requested by the patient, up to maximum number per hour, or fluids whose volumes vary by the time of day. As they can produce high but controlled pressures, they can inject controlled amounts of fluids subcutaneously (beneath the skin), or epidurally (just within the surface of the central nervous system).
Types of Infusion
Continuous infusion is small pulses of infusion, usually between 20 nanoliters and 100 microliters, depending on the pump's design, with the rate of these pulses depending on the programmed infusion speed.
Intermittent infusion has a "high" infusion rate, alternating with a low programmable infusion rate. This mode is often used to administer antibiotics, or other drugs that can irritate a blood vessel.
Patient-controlled is infusion on-demand, usually with a pre-programmed ceiling to avoid intoxication. The rate is controlled by a pressure pad or button that can be activated by the patient.
By Steve Kennelly, Microchip Technology, Inc. The recent ruckus over the newly available vaccine for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) got me thinking about the possible future of implanted electronic medical devices.