Infusion pumps: gravity, technology and the health professional

摘要

On October 14 2012, Felix Baumgartner fell back to Earth at 834 mph; faster than a bullet from a gun. His rate of fall was down to gravity. Isaac Newton (1642-1727) documented this powerful force when he reportedly saw an apple fall perpendicularly from a tree. In the same century, William Harvey (c1628) and Sir Christopher Wren (c1652) shared their discoveries of the human circulatory system, intravenous access and IV infusions. The use of gravity as a natural resource for medication therapy may have found its humble beginnings.Nowadays, many millions of infusions are administered in the UK annually (National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), 2004) and gravity is still used as a useful and simple method to deliver IV therapy. To improve safety and eliminate the variables, a variety of mechanical infusion pumps are also employed to ensure these timely, and sometimes life-saving therapies, are administered on time, as prescribed, and without interruption or alarm.