UMC Utrecht (reg)
Medication errors constitute one of the highest risks to patient safety. Dr. Annemoon Timmerman (Clinical Physicist and Patient Safety Officer at the Medical technology and Clinical Physics department) of UMC Utrecht: “In the past few years international authorities have reported numerous adverse events concerning the incorrect use or application of infusion technology in hospitals.”
Mrs. Timmerman explains the challenge: “Flow rates can be unpredictable and deviate from its set point, especially in multi-infusion set ups. MeDD gives us the opportunity to fine tune our measurement methods and develop a model to predict the actual flow rate to the patients blood stream. With the research we can help medical personnel to get to the bottom of how drug delivery really works. This helps our patients to get the right drug delivery treatment at the right time.
As an academic hospital, UMC Utrecht adds important experience to the MeDD-project: “We have substantial experience in multi-infusion measurement and research. However, the measurement system used has its drawbacks. With the current UMC method we can simulate up to four infusion pump flows, but it remains uncertain how the properties of these dyes relate to the flow of actual drugs. Our multidisciplinary and experienced team of clinicians, nurses, physicists and engineers contributes to the ultimate goal: to make drug delivery more reliable and robust. We will participate in the collection of measurement and investigate which clinical cases are most relevant to improvement.”
