US 8,672,875 B2 · Medication safety enhancement for secondary infusion

Abstract

A system and method determine when fluid is not flowing properly from a secondary infusion source during a secondary infusion. The system includes an upstream pressure sensor and a processor programmed to receive signals from the sensor and analyze the signals to determine if secondary fluid flow is proper. The processor samples the output signals from the upstream pressure sensor and analyzes the sampled signals to determine if a pressure rise in the infusion line has occurred when the secondary infusion is initiated. If a pressure rise, indicating that fluid from the secondary container has begun flowing into the infusion line, has not been detected, the processor is programmed to provide a signal indicating that attention should be given to the infusion set up.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method for actively detecting a fault condition in an intravenous (IV) set having a primary line coupled to a first fluid source, a secondary line coupled from a second fluid source to a fitting, upstream of a pumping mechanism, on the primary line, a check valve in the portion of the primary line between the first fluid source and the fitting, a valve in the portion of the secondary line between the second fluid source and the fitting, and a portion of the primary line that is downstream of the fitting being coupled to the pumping mechanism of an infusion pump, the method comprising:

measuring a pressure of a fluid in the primary line at a point between the fitting and the pumping mechanism;
determining a baseline pressure based on the measured pressure;
infusing a bolus of fluid into the primary line between the fitting and the pumping mechanism;
determining a characteristic of an increase in the measured pressure above the baseline pressure subsequent to the infusion of the bolus of fluid;
comparing, using a processor, the determined characteristic with a threshold;
and
when the determined characteristic is greater than the threshold, providing an alert indicating a fault condition of the secondary line.

4 more elements

A system for actively detecting a fault condition in an intravenous (IV) set having a primary line coupled to a first fluid source, a secondary line coupled from a second fluid source to a fitting, upstream of a pumping mechanism, on the primary line, a check valve in the portion of the primary line between the first fluid source and the fitting, a valve in the portion of the secondary line between the second fluid source and the fitting, and a portion of the primary line that is downstream of the fitting being coupled to the pumping mechanism of an infusion pump, the system comprising:

a pumping mechanism operatively coupled to a portion of the primary line that is downstream of the fitting, the pumping mechanism configured to selectably cause a fluid to flow within the primary line;
a pressure sensor operatively coupled to the primary line at a point between the fitting and the pumping mechanism, the pressure sensor configured to measure a pressure of a fluid within the primary line and provide pressure measurements;
and
a processor coupled to the pumping mechanism and the pressure sensor, the processor configured to:
receive the pressure measurements from the pressure sensor;
determine a baseline pressure based on the received pressure measurements;
cause the pumping mechanism to selectably infuse a bolus of fluid into the primary line between the fitting and the pumping mechanism;
determine a characteristic of an increase in the received pressure measurements above the baseline pressure;
compare the determined characteristic with a threshold;
and
when the determined characteristic is greater than the threshold, indicate a fault condition of the secondary line.

8 more elements

A method for actively detecting a fault condition in an intravenous (IV) set having a primary line coupled to a first fluid source, a secondary line coupled from a second fluid source to a fitting, upstream of a pumping mechanism on the primary line, a check valve in the portion of the primary line between the first fluid source and the fitting, and a manually operated valve in the portion of the secondary line between the second fluid source and the fitting, and a portion of the primary line that is downstream of the fitting being coupled to the pumping mechanism of an infusion pump, the method comprising:

making a pressure measurement of a fluid in the primary line at a point between the fitting and the pumping mechanism;
reversing the pumping mechanism so as to cause a flow of the fluid from a portion of the primary line that is downstream of the pumping mechanism to flow into the primary line between the fitting and the pumping mechanism for a period of time;
making one or more most-recent pressure measurements during the period of time, each of the one or more most-recent pressure measurements having an associated time of measurement;
determining a pressure threshold for each of one or more most-recent pressure measurements by adding a certain pressure to an average of the pressure measurements made during a respective interval of time that precedes the respective time of measurement;
comparing, using a processor, each of the one or more most-recent pressure measurements with the respective pressure threshold;
and
when the comparison indicates that any of the one or more most-recent pressure measurements is greater than or equal to the respective pressure threshold, providing an alert that the manually operated valve in the secondary line is closed.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Medication safety enhancement for secondary infusion

Life of this patent

Medication safety enhancement for secondary infusion

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20