Modules to compose an automated production machine of infusion sets

Abstract

GMI - Gabisa Medical International is a company that produces medical products in order to meet the need and lack of resources in this sector. The marketing of their products is becoming increasingly essential to health professionals. One of the medical and hospital products of great importance is the infusion set, as around 80% of hospitalized patients receive infusion therapy. Infusion sets are structures for the introduction of large volumes of fluid in circulation, in order to intersperse connecting the peripheral device to the venous vessel containing liquid to be infused. The infusion sets are used for a variety of clinical situations in infusions, either enteral (Enteral Feeding Set) or parenteral (Intra Venous Set or IV set) (Guedes et al., 2014).According to BIT (2010a), the simplicity of the infusion equipment combines a high volume of its use, the use of high responsibility and high frequency of defects that populate the routine of nursing professionals of health care procedures. Also according to BIT (2010a), in the event of that product failures can be risks to service users and waste of already scarce financial resources for health. Currently, there is a high failure rate of this product referring to leaks and other consequential of improper assembly. This is mainly because the way of production and testing of this product are not automated. Today, the machines in Brazil that automate the production of infusion sets are mainly imported from China, and besides the high investment for acquisition, only automate the production of infusion sets, missing the automation of testing them. In general, the manual test execution is time-consuming and costly. In this context aiming at avoiding the current problems of quality and cost of production, this project has as goal to specify, develop, test and evaluate five critical modules. The five modules will make up the complete automated machine for production and tests of the infusion sets. The goal of this first phase of the project is to win five technological challenges raised in the pre-design phase. Therefore, the intention is to create five major automated modules for production and tests of infusion sets: solvent applicator, positioner of the drip chamber positioner of the luer connector, leakage and obstruction tests (positive pressure) and leakage and obstruction tests (negative pressure).Later, in a second phase, these five modules will be complemented with other modules to form a complete machine. It is expected, at the end of phase I of PIPE-FAPESP, the modules may prove feasible to develop a machine that aims the automation of the production of IV tubing infusion, including the process of testing leakage and obstruction at 100% of infusion sets produced. Maturing these initial challenges, the intention is to run the full development of this machine in the PIPE-FAPESP phase II. Results expected at the end of phase II are to reduce production costs and increase the quality of the finished product. We hope that with these machines, the Brazilian industrial park can compete on equal terms with the Asian factories. They should also promote a significant reduction in the cost of health care in the country and enable the country instead of importing, start to export infusion sets, improving the trade balance of Brazil. (AU)