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A syringe driver, also known as a syringe pump, is a small
infusion pump An infusion pump infuses fluids, medication or nutrients into a patient's circulatory system. It is generally used intravenously, although subcutaneous, arterial and epidural infusions are occasionally used. Infusion pumps can administer ...
, used to gradually administer small amounts of fluid (with or without medication) to a
patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by Health professional, healthcare professionals. The patient is most often Disease, ill or Major trauma, injured and in need of therapy, treatment by a physician, nurse, op ...
or for use in
chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...
and
biomedical Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)
research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...
. Some syringe drivers can both infuse and withdraw solutions.


Uses

Syringe drivers can be used for
electrospinning Electrospinning is a fiber production method that uses Electrostatics, electrical force (based on electrohydrodynamic principles) to draw charged threads of polymer solutions for producing nanofibers with diameters ranging from nanometers to mi ...
, electrospraying, microdialysis, microfluidics, dispensing/dilution, tissue perfusion, and fluid circulation.


Intravenous therapy

Syringe drivers are useful for delivering intravenous (IV) therapies over several minutes. They infuse solutions at a constant rate. In the case of a medication which should be slowly pushed in over the course of several minutes, this device saves staff time and reduces medical errors. It is useful for patients who cannot take medicines orally (such as those with difficulty
swallowing Swallowing, also called deglutition or inglutition in scientific and medical contexts, is a physical process of an animal's digestive tract (e.g. that of a human body) that allows for an ingested substance (typically food) to pass from the mou ...
), and for medications too harmful to be taken orally.


Palliative care

Syringe drivers are particularly useful in
palliative care Palliative care (from Latin root "to cloak") is an interdisciplinary medical care-giving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating or reducing suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Man ...
, to continuously administer
analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, antalgic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used for pain management. Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in s ...
s (painkillers),
antiemetic An antiemetic is a drug that is effective against vomiting and nausea. Antiemetics are typically used to treat motion sickness and the side effects of opioid analgesics, general anaesthetics, and chemotherapy directed against cancer. They may ...
s (medication to suppress
nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...
and
vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, pre ...
) and other drugs. This prevents periods during which medication levels in the blood are too high or too low, and avoids the use of multiple tablets. As medication is administered subcutaneously, the area of administration is practically limitless, although
edema Edema (American English), also spelled oedema (British English), and also known as fluid retention, swelling, dropsy and hydropsy, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. S ...
may interfere with the action of some drugs.


Research

Syringe pumps are useful in microfluidic applications, such as microreactor design and testing, and also in chemistry for slow incorporation of a fixed volume of fluid into a solution. In
enzyme kinetics Enzyme kinetics is the study of the rates of enzyme catalysis, enzyme-catalysed chemical reactions. In enzyme kinetics, the reaction rate is measured and the effects of varying the conditions of the reaction are investigated. Studying an enzyme' ...
studies, syringe drivers can be used to observe rapid kinetics as part of a
stopped flow Stopped-flow is one of a number of methods of studying the kinetics of reactions in solution. It is ideal for studying chemical reactions with a typical dead time on the order of 1 millisecond. In the simplest form of the technique, the solutions o ...
apparatus. They are also sometimes used as laboratory media dispensers. Some reactions exploiting the high dilution principle use syringe pumps.


References

{{Commonscat, Syringe drivers Palliative care Medical pumps Laboratory equipment