Note: For an industry sector report on infusion pumps, read the August 2008 issue of DOTmed Business News.

State-of-the-art "smart" infusion pumps are transforming the technology the way PACS is transforming diagnostic imaging. Firmware, which resides on the pump, and software interfaces to hospital systems add safety and efficiency to these essential and plentiful devices. Following is a report on two key manufacturers--B. Braun and Smiths Medical.

B. Braun Launches New "Smart Pump" Line and Syringe Pump Technology
Each day, one patient in every hospital in the country falls victim to a medication error, and those errors injure approximately 1.3 million people annually in the United States, according to the FDA. Among adverse drug events, IV-related errors have the greatest potential for harm since vulnerable acute care patients receive critical medication intravenously.

To combat the major causes of IV pump medication errors, B. Braun Medical Inc. has developed its new flagship, large-volume Outlook® ES Safety Infusion System. The modular "smart pump" products incorporate DoseGuard™ software that allows the hospital to program dose limits to their drug formulary and patient care settings. If a clinician attempts to administer too high or too low a dose, visual and audible alerts notify the clinician that the hospital-defined limits have been exceeded. The modular design reduces potential for errors while improving overall asset utilization.

"The biggest single factor in our industry now is the launch and growth of smart pump technology. The pumps are 'smart' because they are equipped with drug libraries," explained Eric Melanson, Director of Marketing for Infusion Systems, B. Braun Medical Inc., Bethlehem, PA. "We sit down with the [healthcare provider] and ask--what drugs are you administering by IV? The hospital may have a labor and delivery unit, several ORs, a trauma center, NICU [neonatal intensive care]. Each has a list of drugs they use routinely. We determine the name of drug and the concentration and the hospital sets dosing limits, and we build a file and download it to the pump."



The Outlook ES line of pumps, just launched in August 2008, is cleverly organized in an upgradable implementation progression. The line includes the Outlook 100ES, 200ES, 300ES and 400ES. All the pumps feature the company's drug library software. The Outlook 200ES adds DoseScan™ barcode technology. The Outlook 300ES includes all of the features of the 100 and 200 plus wireless capability--the IV pump transmits infusion data to hospital clinical information systems, enabling patient records to be updated in real time. Infusion data can also be transmitted to a handheld PDA. In addition to all of the prior technologies noted, the Outlook 400ES features two-way wireless communication with existing hospital clinical information systems. The IV pump wirelessly transmits infusion data to hospital clinical information systems, and in turn wirelessly receives data from those systems.

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