A wearable intravenous infusion device facilitating ambulation: a pre-clinical report

A wearable ambulatory intravenous infusion device (AIVD) has been developed to facilitate the ambulation of patients. To enhance ambulation, a wearable AIVD was designed and a prototype was developed that consists of an air bag, a reciprocating air pump, a drip rate sensor, and a microprocessor-based controller. Using air pressure as a source for actuation greatly contributes to decreasing the weight of the proposed device and the power consumption. Experimental results show that the proposed infusion device can provide a variety of flow rates ranging from 36-90 mL h(-1) with less than a 10% error. A series of experiments were performed with the prototype of the proposed device at a wide range of flow rates and the results verify that the accuracy and controllability of the prototype is comparable with those of the current intravenous infusion devices available. It is expected that the AIVD significantly contributes to the early recovery of patients by offering a convenient and cost-effective means of ambulation.