US20060140798A1

US20060140798A1 - Infusion device

Info

Publication number: US20060140798A1
Application number: US11/357,105
Authority: US
Inventors: Akio Kutsuzawa
Original assignee: Terumo Corp
Current assignee: Terumo Corp
Priority date: 2003-08-21
Filing date: 2006-02-21
Publication date: 2006-06-29
Also published as: WO2005018716A1; CN1838972B; KR100753748B1; JP2005095577A; JP4638694B2; CN1838972A; KR20060034731A

Abstract

A user-friendly infusion device is provided, and more particularly, a infusion device including a user interface capable of providing necessary alarms to a user (a healthcare worker) when problems occur when setting a dose and a infusion flow rate before a infusion. The infusion device includes: a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and a display unit for displaying the dose and the infusion flow rate, or the like, and is characterized in that when the infusion flow rate (mL/h) is input in the setting unit, the flow rate is increased or decreased step by step in synchronization with a buzzer sound for each press of a 100-digit key. Also, the infusion device includes: a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and a display unit for displaying the dose and the infusion flow rate, or the like, and is characterized in that lengths thresholds of detected air is classified into two predetermined stages so that either one can be selected.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a infusion device such as a syringe pump or a infusion pump for administering a drug to a patient, and more particularly to a infusion pump which presses a infusion tube to infuse a liquid drug.

BACKGROUND ART

For infusions conducted in medical institutions or medical care at home, problems sometimes occur in setting a infusion flow rate and a dose to be infused. Consequentially, safer infusion devices are required. In conventional infusion devices, an operation panel is used as an user interface that includes a setting input key for setting a flow rate, a volume to be infused or various warnings and a display unit for displaying them (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-154943 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-300667).

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Conventional devices, however, have problems setting an input suitable for a field of use cannot be performed (for example, setting the input for many flow rates). The present invention is achieved to solve the conventional problems, and has an object to provide a infusion device that is easily usable by use with high safety, and more particularly, a infusion device including a user interface capable of providing a necessary alarm to a user (a healthcase worker) to eliminate the problems in setting a dose and flow rate before a infusion and allowing the user to set the alarm condition.
The above described object is achieved by a infusion device including: a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and a display unit for displaying the dose and the infusion flow rate, or the like, wherein when the infusion flow rate (mL/h) is input via the setting unit, the flow rate is increased or decreased step by step followed by a buzzer sound for each press of an input key. The above described object is also achieved by a infusion device including: a setting unit to set a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and a display unit to display the dose and the infusion flow rate, or the like, wherein thresholds of the lengths of detected air is classified into two predetermined stages so that either thereof can be selected. The above described object is also achieved by a infusion device including in a door: a setting unit to set a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and a display unit to display the dose and the infusion flow rate, or the like, wherein setting an input in the setting unit is prevented while the door is kept opened and/or during the start of a infusion (during a infusion operation).
As described above, according to the present invention, a infusion device is provided that allows a user to set infusion conditions safely and reliably, and also the easy setup or adjustment or selection of a necessary alarm (warning) condition via a user interface including an operation panel. Further, detailed organization of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the best implementation of the invention and its accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall appearance perspective view of a infusion device according to the present invention with its door being opened;
FIG. 2 shows an operation switch panel according to the present invention;
FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a door side sensor (a transmitting element) 31 facing a base side sensor (a receiving element) 30;
FIG. 3B is a sectional view of a state where door 4 is closed to hold a infusion tube 2;
FIG. 4 shows the flow of air detection according to the present invention;
FIG. 5A shows the rear surface of the infusion device 1;
FIG. 5B is a perspective view of the bottom surface of the infusion device 1;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the infusion device according to the present invention; and
FIG. 7 shows the flow of a subroutine for setting inputs according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS

1 infusion device
2 infusion tube
4 door
6 operation indicator
8 the drip number setting switch
9 volume to be infused/volume infused setting switch
11 flow rate setting switch
13 check timing display unit

BEST CONFIGURATION FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Now, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an appearance perspective view of a state where a peristaltic infusion device 1 as an example of a infusion device is secured to a infusion pole 90 with its door being opened, FIG. 5A is a rear perspective view, and FIG. 5B is a bottom perspective view. FIG. 6 is a block diagram. In the state in FIG. 1 a flexible infusion tube 2 (see FIG. 2) described later is set in the infusion device. The infusion device is used with the door 4 being closed. In this state of use, the outline dimension of a device body excluding handle 5 provided in the upper unit and the right and left protrusions 3 a (the right one only is shown in FIG. 1) is about 19 cm wide, about 16 cm high, and about 16 cm deep.
The infusion device 1 has securing fittings 91 on its a rear surface, into which a securing knob 92 is screwed so as to be secured to the infusion pole 90 as shown in FIG. 1. The infusion device 1 can be secured at any height of the infusion pole 90 as required for particular use. Further, the infusion device 1 has four rubber feet 93 secured to its bottom surface so that the infusion device 1 can also be used on a desk beside a patient after being removed from the infusion pole 90.
Thus, the device is designed so that a user (an operator such as a healthcare worker, for example, a doctor or a nurse) presses each switch with his/her thumb with the remaining fingers resting on back sides of the right and left protrusions 3 a for an easy pressing of the various switches in order to improve usability when setting (mounting) the infusion tube 2 (see FIG. 2). The right and left protrusions 3 a (the right protrusion 3 a only is shown in FIG. 1) are integrally molded with a body base 3 that is made of reinforced plastic or an aluminum die casting, resistant to impact and have vertically sufficient lengths as shown. With the right and left protrusions (projections) 3 a, a body facing cover 12 of the infusion device 1 has a wider width than the door 4, and thus even if the infusion device 1 falls onto the floor, the body facing cover 12 hits the floor before the door 4 hits the floor because of the center of gravity of the infusion device 1, thereby protecting the infusion device 1 and the door 4 from strong impact when falling.
Two upper and lower grooves 3 m used to laterally hold the infusion tube 2 at the center of the body base 3 as shown are integrally molded, and the user vertically sets the infusion tube 2 in the grooves 3 m. A pump mechanism 100 is fixed in the middle of the grooves by four screws 110 attachable and detachable using a tool. The pump mechanism 100 includes ten fingers 10-n individually driven by cam drive means included in the body base 3. Each of the fingers 10-n is injection molded out of thermoplastic resin such as a polyacetal resistant to chemicals. In the lower unit of the body base 3, jaws 3 k protruding to the front in the sheet surface are integrally molded so as to surround the groove 3 m, and if a lower side surface of a below described door facing cover 12 is placed on the jaws 3 k when the door 4 including the door facing cover 12 is closed to apply any external force, the jaws 3 k receives the external force to prevent the external force from being applied to the door facing cover 12 and the door 4 in order to prevent breakage. A hook 59 is secured to the right side substantially in the middle of the body base 3, and a lock unit of a door lock lever 7 rotatably provided in the door 4 is locked to the hook 59 to maintain the door 4 secured to the body base 3. A door seal rubber 66 made of an elastomer is provided in the door 4 at a unit facing the most upstream side of the groove 3 m, and the door seal rubber 66 is deformed so as to form a joining seal surface with a shown shaping unit 3 j of the body base 3 when the door 4 is closed, thereby preventing a liquid drug or the like from entering the infusion device 1.
A occlusion sensor 62 is provided below the pump mechanism 100, and holds the infusion tube 2 in front and back directions together with a occlusion pressure plate 69 provided in the door 4 to face the occlusion sensor 62. The occlusion sensor 62 includes a permanent magnet and a pickup sensor to detect the moving distance of the permanent magnet in an analog manner, and is adapted to detect the position of the permanent magnet moved according to internal pressure changes depending on occlusion states of the infusion tube 2. For this purpose, it is necessary that the occlusion pressure plate 69 does not regulate internal pressure changes of the infusion tube 2 in any directions, and thus a shown disk is held to be freely movable by a leaf (an elastic member). When a occlusion threshold is detected by the occlusion sensor 62, the adjustment means (selection means) 51 (see FIG. 5B) provided at the bottom surface of the infusion device 1 can be adjusted (selected) (a plurality of stages) within 10 stages ranging from 30 to 170 kPa using a driver manipulated by a user or a serviceman for maintenance according to the manufacturer or the type of infusion tube 2 used. A base side sensor 30 that forms one side of the air-in sensor 30 a that transmits and receives ultrasound to detect the presence of air entering the infusion tube 2 is secured between the upper groove 3 m and the pump mechanism 100 in a chamber unit 3 h formed in the body base 3 as shown. A door side sensor 31 that forms the other side of the ultrasonic air-in sensor 30 a is secured to the door 4 as shown. With this organization, the door side sensor 31 can fit into the chamber unit 3 h of the body base 3 with the door 4 being closed to hold the infusion tube 2 with the sensors from the front and back directions, thereby maintaining the infusion tube 2 immobile.
On the other hand, the pump mechanism 100 and the body base 3 are substantially colored in gray, while groove parts 94 and 95 secured to upper and lower units of the pump mechanism 100 are red or orange, so that the user sets the infusion tube 2 in the grooves to correctly hold the infusion tube 2 in a predetermined position of the pump mechanism 100. In FIG. 1, the door 4 is shown opened and substantially flush with a left side surface of the body base 3. The door 4 is opened to a maximum angle of approximately 105 degrees with respect to the surface of the body base 3, and stopped at this position. The middle opening or closing positions for the door 4 are rotatably supported by hinges 65 so as to prevent rattling. The hinges 65 include unshown springs.
The body facing cover 12 specially injection molded of thermoplastic synthetic resin is provided so as to prevent surface sink or a residue of resin flow, and is detachable so as to cover four corners of the body base 3 in the infusion device 1. Thus, the body facing cover 12 is detached to be easily accessible to all check spots and parts replacement spots in the infusion device 1, thereby facilitating assembly and also maintenance and parts replacement. A pressure plate 70 is provided on a rear surface of the door 4 as described later. A flexible cable 63 is provided with part thereof being exposed as shown between the upper and lower hinges 65 and 65 for supplying power and transmitting electric signals so that the supply of power and the transmission of electric signals to the door side sensor 31 can be performed besides the operation switch panel (see FIG. 2).
FIG. 5A shows the rear surface of the infusion device 1, and FIG. 5B shows its bottom surface. On the rear surface of the infusion device 1 of FIG. 5A, a key lock switch 52 for disabling the operation of the operation panel after the start of a infusion operation, a DC connector 53, an drip sensor connector 54, a infusion set display changeover switch 55, an external communication unit mounted on each board (an external communication connector) 56, an drip sensor holder 93 c, a fuse holder, and an AC power supply connector (a receptacle), or the like are arranged. In the bottom surface of the infusion device 1 of FIG. 5B, adjustment means (an adjustment switch) 50 that serves as both a voice guide selection means (a voice guide selection switch) and the drip number selection display means (the drip number selection switch) is provided. A requested voice guide can be selected from a voice IC chip 70, and optimum voice guidance can be performed at each medical field. The volume of the voice guide can be set by continuously pressing the volume to be infused setting means (a volume to be infused setting switch) 9 while pressing the flow rate setting means (a flow rate setting switch) 11 that also serves as an adjustment means (setting means) so that the display on the flow rate display unit 32 is successively changed from A-1 (volume: low) to A-2 (volume: middle), A-3 (volume: high), and A-1 (volume: low) for each press of the up switch 22 c of the up-down switch 22. Also, a infusion set selection panel 8 is configured that when a infusion tube (a infusion set) 2 is not used, user can not set the drip number for the infusion. The adjustment means 50 may be separately provided. A clamp mounting screw 93 a is also provided.
Next, FIG. 2 shows a front view of an operation switch panel 1000 provided in a front side of the infusion device 1 in the state after the infusion tube 2 has been set (mounted) and the door 4 has been closed. In FIG. 2, components described above are denoted by the same numeral reference and consequently their descriptions will be omitted. A infusion bag 300 containing a predetermined liquid drug is hung on the infusion pole, and the most upstream side of the infusion tube 2 is connected to the infusion bag 300. The middle unit of the infusion tube 2 is set in the infusion device 1 as shown, while an intravenous needle 304 is connected via a roller clamp 303 further downstream of the infusion tube 2, and the intravenous needle 304 is punctured into the vein of a patient to infuse the liquid drug at a predetermined rate. The roller clamp 303 acts in the same manner as a clamp mechanism 500 (see FIG. 1) in the infusion device 1, but an operation (open/close operations) of the roller clamp 303 is sometimes forgotten, which forces the user to operate the roller clamp 303 through the voice guide. As described above, the infusion bag 300 is hung on an unshown infusion pole (a infusion stand) to allow high accuracy infusion to a patient lying on a bed.
The middle unit of the infusion tube 2 is temporarily set as shown, and then the door 4 is closed and locked through lever 7 to start a infusion. The display units of the drip number, a volume to be infused (a dose to be infused)/volume infused, and a flow rate (a infusion flow rate) display numeral by a so-called seven segments numerical. The operation switch panel 1000 is provided in the door 4. The display units 8, 23 and 32 for displaying the drip number, the volume to be infused/volume infused, and the flow rate are laid out in the operation switch panel 1000 so as to be easily viewable. The display units are color-coded so that the display unit 32 of the flow rate is an orange LED, the display unit 23 of the volume to be infused/volume infused is a green LED, and the display unit 32 of the flow rate is displayed to be larger than the display unit 23 of the volume to be infused/volume infused. The key panel on which the operation switches are placed and the display units 8, 23 and 32 of the drip number, the volume to be infused/volume infused, and the flow rate are made of a transparent resin film having a back surface on which predetermined items are printed and embossed to protrude forward in a circular shape, and bonded to cover unshown included switch keys, thereby preventing the liquid drug or the like from entering the switch keys.
The above described switch keys are mounted on a common board, and LEDs of the display units 8, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 32 emit light so that the displays are easily viewable even when it is dark. The switch keys, the display units 8, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 32, and lamps are connected to a below described control unit via the flexible cable 63, and power is supplied. Electric signals of control signals and drive signals are transmitted from the cable to allow the supply of power and the transmission of the electric signals of the control signals and the drive signals to perform without trouble the opening and closing operations of the door 4 including the door facing cover 12. A board provided in the door 4 handles so-called TTL level electric signals only.
Next, the function of each switch will be described. A power switch 15 provided in a lower left corner in the drawing is used for turning on/off a main power supply. It turns on the power supply if being pressed for a predetermined amount of seconds (about 2 seconds) and it turns off the power supply if being pressed again for a predetermined amount of seconds (about 3 seconds or more), which prevents the power supply from being accidentally turned on/off. A battery lamp 16 on the right of the power switch 15 includes a green light emitting diode to indicate the three stages as shown. It also lights up when an AC power supply or a dedicated DC power supply is connected irrespective of the on/off state of the power supply to indicate that a battery is being charged. Further, the battery lamp 16 indicates the amount of charge during the charging and the remaining amount during use of the built-in battery with the LED. On the left of the battery lamp 16, an AC/DC lamp 17 lights up only when a commercial power supply or a DC power supply is used and the power supply is on. A stop and silence switch 18 that is pressed during the infusion to cause a built-in buzzer to sound in order to stop the infusion is provided above the AC/DC lamp 17. The stop and silence switch 18 can be pressed while the warning sound (the buzzer) is emitted to silence the sound. Also, when in a state of being ready for the infusion the stop and silence switch 18 is continuously pressed for predetermined seconds (about 2 seconds), a mode is changed to standby mode. By changing to standby mode, an alarm state for a caution against forgetting to start is released. This can prevent the alarm (the buzzer) from being generated during the time between completion of the puncture of a needle into a patient and the start of the infusion, for example, in an operating room. In a condition where the alarm state is not released, the alarm (the buzzer sound) is generated after predetermined minutes (about 20 minutes) to urge the user to start the infusion. On the left of the stop and silence switch 18, a stop display lamp 21 having a diode that emits an orange light blinking during a stop is provided in association with the stop and silence switch 18 so as to be surrounded by the same frame. On the right of the stop and silence switch 18, a start switch 19 is provided. The start switch 19 is pressed to cause a built-in buzzer to sound to start the infusion. The green light emitting diode of the start display lamp 20 blinks to indicate that the operation is being performed. An operation indicator 6 (see FIG. 1) provided to protrude from an upper part of the door 4 also has a green light emitting diode blinking at intervals according to the dose (the infusion rate) so that the operation state is visible from a distant position. On the left of the stop and silence switch 18, a fast-forward switch 36 is provided, and when pressed it allows the liquid to be delivered at a rate higher than the set rate (mL/h) during the pressing.
A display unit 1100 is provided above the switches, six up-down switches 22, all are provided as shown, so as to correspond to a 3-digit display unit of the flow rate display unit (a infusion flow rate display unit) 32. Up and down buttons 22 a, 22 b, and 22 c of the up-down switch 22 corresponding to the number of digits (hundreds, tens, ones) are pressed in a stop state to allow setting the input of the flow rate (the infusion flow rate) (mL/h) and the volume to be infused (the dose to be infused) (mL) within a range of 1.0 to 500 mL/h and 1 to 9999 mL, respectively. On the left of the flow rate display unit 32, the flow rate setting means (the flow rate setting switch) 11 that is pressed to enter the setting mode is provided. In setting the flow rate (mL/h), the up and down buttons 22 a are continuously pressed to increase and decrease the value hundreds by hundreds, and a buzzer sounds synchronized with the increase and decrease of the value at each press. When setting the flow rate (mL/h), first, the flow rate setting means (the flow rate setting switch) 11 is pressed to confirm the blinking state, then the value is input by the up-down switch 22 to confirm that the value is a predetermined value, and the flow rate setting means (the flow rate setting switch) 11 is pressed again to set the input. Above the flow rate display unit 32, an volume infused and volume to be infused display unit 23 surrounded by a printed separate frame is provided. A set range for the volume to be infused varies between 1 to 9999 mL by pressing the up and down buttons 22 a, 22 b, and 22 c corresponding to the number of digits of the up-down switch 22. This set range is programmed to be increased by 1 mL increments or set freely, and adapted to store the set value in a storing unit 71 (see FIG. 6). On the left of the volume infused and volume to be infused display unit 23, the volume to be infused setting switch 9 is provided. This switch is pressed to confirm the set volume to be infused. The volume infused is programmed to be displayed in 1 mL increments, thus the volume infused display range is 0.0 to 9999 mL. For the flow rate (mL/h) and the volume to be infused (mL) after setting the input, when the flow rate (mL/h) is equal to or larger than the volume to be infused (mL), an alarm (a buzzer or a voice notification) is used to notify the user. As an example of the voice notification, a voice such as “Confirm the set flow rate” previously stored in the voice IC chip 70 is used to notify to the user. The display unit 1100 uses LED elements and is visible even in a dark room without illumination. The infusion device 1 also includes a flow rate upper limit setting function.
Above the volume infused and volume to be infused display unit 23, infusion setting means (the drip number setting means) 8 is provided to set the drip number of infusion using a drip chamber and confirm the setting afterwards. On its right, a completion display unit 24 displays the characters “completed” blinking. Below the completion display unit 24, a timing validation display unit 13 is provided to send either a notification regarding the approach of a regular check timing or a notification regarding a regular check by illuminating either a pictographic character of a driver from a back surface or an LED display. When the display unit 13 is made of LED, the display colors may be changed. For instance, the display is orange for a predetermined period of days, i.e., a few days before the regular check timing (date), and the display turns red after the regular check date. Setting a time period before the transfusion system lights up can be done at configuration. For example, continuously pressing the volume to be infused setting means (the volume to be infused setting switch) 9 while pressing the flow rate setting means (the flow rate setting switch) 11 enables a user to set a time using the up switch 22 b of the up-down switch 22 so that the display on the flow rate display unit 32 is successively changed from 0 (no setting) to 1 (month), 2 (months), . . . 12 (months). When setting, timing validation may be controlled by a host computer using an internal communication means such as a LAN connection via an external communication unit 56.
Further, an occlusion display unit 26 displaying the blinking characters “occlusion” when an occlusion in the infusion tube 2 is detected by the occlusion sensor 62, urges a user to disable the infusion. A door opening display unit 27 is provided to display the blinking characters “door” when the door is not closed incompletely with respect to the body base 3 and an open state is detected by the door switch. An air-in display unit 28 is provided to display the blinking characters “air-in” when the air-in sensor 30 a determines that an air of a predetermined length (10 mm or 5 mm) has entered the infusion tube 2. An low battery display unit 29 is provided to display the blinking characters “battery” when the voltage of the built-in battery is low. An abnormal flow rate display unit 25 is provided to display an abnormal flow rate. All previous displays are provided as alarm display units surrounded by the same printed frame. More particularly, when the door switch 63 (see FIG. 6) determines that the door 4 is opened or incompletely closed with respect to the body base 3 in the stop state of the infusion operation because of an alarm or the like, any operation of the operation switch panel is prohibited to prevent setting an input. An input setting subroutine is shown in FIG. 7 regarding this last case. In FIG. 7, it is first determined whether the operation is being stopped (Step S101). When it is determined that the operation is being stopped, it is determined whether the door 4 is opened (Step S102). (When it is determined in Step S101 that the operation is not being stopped, that is, the operation is being performed, the process returns to the original routine to prohibit a setting input operation (Step S109)). When it is determined that the door 4 is not opened (closed), it is determined whether the flow rate setting is selected (Step S103). (When it is determined in Step S102 that the door 4 is opened, the process returns to the original routine to prevent the occurrence of a setting input operation (Step S109)). When the flow rate setting is selected, a flow rate setting change is performed (Step S108). When the flow rate setting is not selected, it is determined if the volume to be infused setting is selected (Step S104). When the volume to be infused setting is selected, a volume to be infused setting change is performed (Step S107). When the volume to be infused setting is not selected, it is determined if the drip number setting is selected (Step S105). When it is determined that the drip number setting is selected, a drip number change is performed (Step S106). When it is determined that the drip number setting is not selected, the process returns to the original routine to prevent the occurrence of the setting input operation (Step S109). The process also returns to the original routine after the processing of Step S106, Step S107, and Step S108 to prohibit a setting input operation (Step S109). The order of the routine processing constitutes an example and does not limit the step of the invention.
As described above, the operation switch panel as a user interface is designed so that the user can set and confirm the infusion conditions safely and reliably and before starting a infusion. A door base 4 a partially shown by a broken line in the lower left part of the drawings is made of aluminum die casting or rigid resin, and has a key surface formed between the side surface and the front surface.
FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are perspective and sectional views of the air-in sensor 30 a. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the door side sensor (a transmitting element) 31 facing the base side sensor (a receiving element) 30, and FIG. 3B is a sectional view of the state where the door 4 is closed to hold the infusion tube 2. The door side sensor 31 facing the base side sensor 30 includes a pair of transmitting elements and receiving elements. The determination that there is an air in the infusion tube 2 is made through the following flow (FIG. 4). First, the user selects the length (a threshold) of air from 5 mm (mainly for children) or 10 mm (mainly for adults) that are required to be detected. Air-in detection sensitivity is selected by pressing the volume to be infused setting means 9 as selection means while pressing the flow rate setting switch 11 as air-in sensor sensitivity selection means (a selection switch) so that a display on the display unit 32 is successively changed from 5 to 10, to 5, and to 10 for each pressing of the volume to be infused setting switch 9. When the display is “5”, the length threshold for the detection of air in the infusion tube 2 is 5 mm, and when the display shows “10”, the length threshold is 10 mm. Either one of the thresholds is thus selected (Step S1) to cause either “5” or “10” to be displayed as the selected (set) value (Step S2). All input setting conditions such as the flow rate and the volume to be infused are ready, and the start switch 19 is then pressed to start the infusion (Step S3). Air-in detection is performed during the infusion (Step S4), and when there is an air in the infusion tube 2, the value detected by the base side sensor (the receiving element) 30 is changed. Thus, the value is counted (in synchronization with the RPMs of a motor driving the fingers 10-n) to determine whether the value exceeds the air length threshold. When the value exceeds the threshold, it is determined that there is an air (Step S5), a display is made on the air-in display unit 28, and an alarm (a buzzer or a voice) is generated (Step S6) to stop (Step S7). A dedicated selection switch may be provided rather than using another switch as the selection switch. Thresholds of lengths of air to be detected by the air-in detection are in a plurality of stages such as “5”, “10”, “15”, “20”, or the like as default values, but the user may select either of two stages of “5” and “10” only. Thus, a safe design is provided such that the user cannot adjust, change, or set the thresholds of the lengths of the air to be detected by the air-in detection. The thresholds can be changed as required by a serviceman for maintenance or the like. The present invention has been described, but various improvements or changes may be made without departing from the purpose of the present invention. The explanations of the present invention are not limited to the embodiment of the present invention but becomes apparent from the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A infusion device comprising:

a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and

a display unit for displaying said dose and said infusion flow rate, or the like,

wherein when said infusion flow rate (mL/h) is input in said setting unit, the flow rate is increased or decreased step by step in synchronization with a buzzer sound for each press of a 100-digit key.

2. A infusion device comprising:

a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and

wherein lengths thresholds of detected air is classified into two stages so that either one can be selected.

3. A infusion device comprising in a door:

a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and

wherein setting input in said setting unit is being prohibited when said door is opened and/or during a temporary stop.

4. A infusion device comprising in a door:

a setting unit for setting a dose and a infusion flow rate, or the like; and

wherein setting input in said setting unit is being prohibited when said door is opened and/or during a start of a infusion.