Syringe pumps for an ASC?

[Urzuz]

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Does anyone have recommendations for reliable, affordable, and easy to use syringe pumps for an ASC (mainly used for propofol, rarely for drugs like phenylephrine, ketamine, or dexmedetomidine). I miss the old Baxter ones that did what you set them to do, were simple to use, and didn’t have a thousand onerous menus to click through. Unfortunately those are discontinued.

In lieu of those, any other recommendations? I’ve had good experiences with Alaris, but buying the entire module in addition to the pump would probably be expensive versus standalone pumps (Braun, med fusion, etc…)

 

[Gern Blansten]

Does anyone have recommendations for reliable, affordable, and easy to use syringe pumps for an ASC (mainly used for propofol, rarely for drugs like phenylephrine, ketamine, or dexmedetomidine). I miss the old Baxter ones that did what you set them to do, were simple to use, and didn’t have a thousand onerous menus to click through. Unfortunately those are discontinued.

In lieu of those, any other recommendations? I’ve had good experiences with Alaris, but buying the entire module in addition to the pump would probably be expensive versus standalone pumps (Baxter, med fusion, etc…)

Every older clinician still laments the disappearance of the old Baxter pumps with the interchangeable face plates. I know a couple of people who still have their own that they kept and still use. Would not be allowed at my place to use a pump from the outside that is unapproved. There is an unmet need in anesthesiology for a simple and easy to use pump of this type. I suspect that some company will eventually fill that gap, but it has been there for a very long time.
Hospital administrators work deals to get cheap, complicated, and unreliable pumps that everyone hates. It makes the workers frustrated, but saves money on the bottom line. I know there must be the ability to make a cheap product that is simple that people would love.
Even better would be IV tubing that has a reliable "dial a flow" system. The older kind is too unreliable. I am talking about for titrate to effect doses for short term use. We need more exact pumps for long term infusions.

 

[cchoukal]

I work in two shops that still have the Baxters and let me lay down a few "love" emojis here. I'm currently doing cases at a shop that has 3 Braun syringe pumps, each with a different programming interface, and each with its own weird proclivities. "Hate" emoji here.

I like MedFusion/Smith, but not cheap (I feel like our last bid was $4K each), but these are the best of the worst.

 

[abolt18]

We've got a guy in our group who has built his own pump. He's gone through a bunch of different iterations. 3d printed the components and built all the electrical at home. He uses it daily and interchangeably for propofol and phenylephrine. What "the facility" doesn't know won't hurt them.

 

[pgg]

We've got a guy in our group who has built his own pump. He's gone through a bunch of different iterations. 3d printed the components and built all the electrical at home. He uses it daily and interchangeably for propofol and phenylephrine. What "the facility" doesn't know won't hurt them.

A few years back I built an automated mini lathe for turning cartridge brass necks. Simple Arduino code, a linear servo, cheap DC motor to spin the cutting tool, mini touch screen to control it. The linear servo was $300 or so by itself given the thrust and static load requirements, but altogether it couldnt have been more than $500.

I remember wondering why syringe pumps cost so much, because that's all they really are on the inside.

But. As much as I miss those simple syringe pumps with the magnetic faceplates and idiot proof knobs, I sure as hell wouldn't bring a homemade pump into a hospital ...

 

[propadope]

I still have a couple Baxter InfusOR pumps. One has a broken syringe clamp so good for parts, the other one is intact. I don’t love them: takes 4 C batteries no mains power, only uses 60cc syringes, weight and infusion rates only have a few fixed options on the dial, the bolus dial is tedious to use. I get that they are simple but I much prefer my Alaris PK pump with TCI models and I can program any medication I want, at the concentration I want, with the bolus that I want. The Alaris TIVA pump should be available in the US (doesn’t have TCI)

I don’t think its a simple as you guys think. There are important safety features like syringe size and brand recognition, occlusion alarms, limits and features to avoid programming errors. I would not use a homemade pump: if anything goes wrong there’s a liability issue. Also pumps need to be on a preventive maintenance program: calibration, testing etc…who’s going to do that?

 

[pgg]

I still have a couple Baxter InfusOR pumps. One has a broken syringe clamp so good for parts, the other one is intact. I don’t love them: takes 4 C batteries no mains power, only uses 60cc syringes, weight and infusion rates only have a few fixed options on the dial, the bolus dial is tedious to use. I get that they are simple but I much prefer my Alaris PK pump with TCI models and I can program any medication I want, at the concentration I want, with the bolus that I want. The Alaris TIVA pump should be available in the US (doesn’t have TCI)

I don’t think its a simple as you guys think. There are important safety features like syringe size and brand recognition, occlusion alarms, limits and features to avoid programming errors. I would not use a homemade pump: if anything goes wrong there’s a liability issue. Also pumps need to be on a preventive maintenance program: calibration, testing etc…who’s going to do that?

As I said, I would not use a homemade pump ... unless perhaps I was overseas on a charity trip and had no medicolegal risk.

But these tasks are not really that hard. (Or even all necessary - for example, if it's built to only accept one size of syringe, it doest need to recognize brands/sizes). I've built devices and monitors from raw parts for animal lab research. One of my old partners built a prototype portable ventilator for the Navy back during the uncertain early days of COVID. These devices are not that complex.

The hurdles are the certification processes and legal liability issues.

 

[Hoya11]

Does anyone have recommendations for reliable, affordable, and easy to use syringe pumps for an ASC (mainly used for propofol, rarely for drugs like phenylephrine, ketamine, or dexmedetomidine). I miss the old Baxter ones that did what you set them to do, were simple to use, and didn’t have a thousand onerous menus to click through. Unfortunately those are discontinued.

In lieu of those, any other recommendations? I’ve had good experiences with Alaris, but buying the entire module in addition to the pump would probably be expensive versus standalone pumps (Braun, med fusion, etc…)

we use the alaris but dont have a drug library, just use basic mode and its totally fine

 

[propadope]

The good thing about the Alaris syringe pumps (TIVA, CC, GH, PK or Nexus) is that I can create my own drug library with my own parameters. So it only has the medications I want and not a whole A-Z library. You can also set different profiles for different providers. It does require a PC and software to create the profiles/libraries but once its created its very easy and intuitive to use

If cost is an issue you could always consider refurbished…in that case be careful to check if the pump is still supported and you can still get parts

 

[propadope]

Also if you get two identical pumps you have a backup, a potential donor for parts, and the ability to run them both at the same time. I like redundancy and flexibility

 

[jwk]

I still have a couple Baxter InfusOR pumps. One has a broken syringe clamp so good for parts, the other one is intact. I don’t love them: takes 4 C batteries no mains power, only uses 60cc syringes, weight and infusion rates only have a few fixed options on the dial, the bolus dial is tedious to use. I get that they are simple but I much prefer my Alaris PK pump with TCI models and I can program any medication I want, at the concentration I want, with the bolus that I want. The Alaris TIVA pump should be available in the US (doesn’t have TCI)

I don’t think its a simple as you guys think. There are important safety features like syringe size and brand recognition, occlusion alarms, limits and features to avoid programming errors. I would not use a homemade pump: if anything goes wrong there’s a liability issue. Also pumps need to be on a preventive maintenance program: calibration, testing etc…who’s going to do that?

Baxter pumps used the syringe size specified on the faceplate. They weren't all 60cc. They were way ahead of their time back in the 80s, and are still in demand today - if you can find them.

 

[propadope]

Baxter pumps used the syringe size specified on the faceplate. They weren't all 60cc. They were way ahead of their time back in the 80s, and are still in demand today - if you can find them.

I only have the Propofol adult and pediatric plates and they were both 60ml, so have no idea what others ones they had. I got them used from a hospital that was getting rid of them many many years ago. I like to use 20ml syringes for peds dental and its nice to be able to put on a 10ml or 5ml syringe if I just need a bit more to finish the case.

I’m going to try sell mine since there definitely seems to be a demand for them. They were my backup pumps for the longest time. I should try to get a new syringe clamp 3D printed…

 

[Gator7]

My personal favorite is the old smiths/med fusion syringe pumps.

I hear alaris alarms in my nightmares still

 

[kidthor]

Little Man Living in Alaris Pump: I’m Lonely