Developing a Smart Infusion Pump Dedicated to Infusion Safety

Abstract

A large-volume infusion pump is a medical device with a big job: infuse patients with life-sustaining fluids and medications at a known and controlled rate. And, do it safely. Because infusions are frequently administered therapies, the opportunity for use error–induced adverse events is amplified. To develop a safer infusion pump, Ivenix, Inc., committed to a comprehensive usability engineering effort that included over 400 hours of usability testing. As a result, the pump’s design includes risk controls for mitigating potential use errors not available on today’s pumps. The resulting product was the winner of the 2019 Stanley Caplan User-Centered Design Award.

Prioritizing Patient Safety: Analysis of the Procurement Process

“…Currently, public procurement in Europe is an essential vehicle for implementing government policies and meeting national strategic objectives, as well-functioning public procurement markets contribute to improving the competitiveness of quality service strategies 32 . In addition, new strategies are needed to ensure that public procurement addresses the social existing challenges such as environmental protection and sustainable consumption and production 33 in addition to patient safety 35 . Recent recommendations to improve the safety of infusion pumps reinforce the need to involve large organizational purchasers of these technologies as they can in uence infusion device and management system design with manufacturers 9 .…”

Prioritizing Patient Safety: Analysis of the Procurement Process of Infusion Pumps in Spain

“…Several reports have been published about human factors evaluation, specifically of infusion pumps, related to the comparison of different equipment [34], for improving existing designs [11] or for supporting new designs [35,36]. However, human factors evaluation is not a usual practice as a supporting decision tool in medical technology in general [30].…”

From Discovery to Implementation and Interoperability of a New Smart Infusion Pump Designed for Usability and Patient Safety

“…Ivenix, Inc. (now Fresenius Kabi) was started in 2012 to develop a new smart infusion pump. Smith and Gray (2020) explain that the pump was designed to mitigate potential use errors based on an extensive review of adverse events. Ivenix, Inc. conducted 400 hours of usability testing over six years, progressing from basic to more complex workflows.…”