A portable infusion pump, programmable with 16 rates

An external, portable, programmable infusion pump has been developed for long-term therapeutic intravenous infusion of drugs. The impulse-controlled system consists of a 250 g CMOS-electronic unit, and an electromechanical infuser (250 g) containing a 10-ml disposable syringe. The infusion rate pattern is manually preprogrammed from 24 to 384 microliter/0.5 h. The coefficient of variation of the volume infused is less than 2% per. 0.5 h. The system has been tested by continuous administration of insulin in diabetics during 4 consecutive days, and can operate for 6-7 days with a 1 Ah, 5.4 V battery. The mean capillary blood glucose concentration could be maintained at levels close to normal (i.e. 7.0 mmol/1 +/- 2.3 (SD)) during the treatment period.