Systems and methods for programming pumps

Abstract

A system for delivering medical fluid to a patient includes a medical container including a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag storing data related to the medical fluid therein. A RF reader receives data signals transmitted from the RFID tag that include a desired flow rate for delivering the fluid to the intended patient. A pump coupled to the reader includes a pumping mechanism for pumping the medical fluid from the container, and a pump controller for receiving the data including the desired flow rate from the reader. The pump controller automatically controls the pumping mechanism to pump the medical fluid from the medical container at the desired flow rate based upon the data.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A system for delivering medical fluid in a medical container to a patient, the medical container comprising a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag for storing data related to the medical fluid, the system comprising: 
 a reader for receiving signals transmitted from the RFID tag, the signals comprising data including a desired flow rate; and    a pump, comprising, 
 a pumping mechanism for pumping the medical fluid from the medical container; and  
 a pump controller coupled to the reader for receiving the data including at least the desired flow rate from the reader, the pump controller controlling the pumping mechanism to pump the medical fluid from the medical container at the desired flow rate based upon the data.  
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the reader is configured for transmitting a query signal to the RFID tag and receiving a response signal from the RFID tag in response to the query signal, the response signal comprising the data.  
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a medical container including a medical fluid therein coupled to the pump mechanism, the medical container comprising a RFID tag storing data associated with the medical fluid.  
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the medical container comprises a syringe or an IV bag.  
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the medical fluid comprises a cocktail having a predetermined expiration period during which the medical fluid must be delivered, wherein the data comprises the predetermined expiration period, and wherein the pump controller is configured for comparing the predetermined expiration period with a clock to confirm that the predetermined expiration period has not passed.  
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the pump further comprises a display coupled to the pump controller, the display configured for displaying the desired flow rate.  
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the reader comprises a pad comprising a radio frequency (RF) antenna therein for receiving signals from a RFID tag associated with the medical container when the medical container is placed in close proximity to the pad.  
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the pad comprises an upper surface onto which a medical container may be placed for receiving signals from the RFID tag.  
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the reader and pump are contained within a casing configured for having the medical container connected thereto, the reader configured for receiving the data from the RFID tag when the medical container is connected to the casing.  
     
     
         10 . A system for delivering medical fluid in a medical container to a patient, the medical container comprising a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag for storing data related to the medical fluid, the system comprising: 
 a reader for receiving signals transmitted from the RFID tag, the signals comprising a container identifier uniquely associated with the medical container;    an interface coupled to the reader for communicating with a remote database, the interface configured for transmitting the container identifier to the database and receiving data from the database associated with the medical container, the data comprising a desired flow rate; and    a pump, comprising, 
 a pumping mechanism for pumping the medical fluid from the medical container; and  
 a pump controller coupled to the interface for receiving at least the desired infusion rate from the database, the pump controller configured for controlling the pumping mechanism to pump the medical fluid from the medical container at the desired flow rate.  
   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a database remote from the reader, the database comprising a plurality of identifiers and a plurality of respective desired flow rates, each identifier and respective desired flow rate being associated with a respective RFID tag.  
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the reader is configured for transmitting a query signal to the RFID tag and receiving a response signal from the RFID tag in response to the query signal, the response signal comprising the container identifier.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a medical container including a medical fluid therein coupled to the pump mechanism, the medical container comprising a RFID tag storing data associated with the medical fluid.  
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the medical container comprises a syringe or an IV bag.  
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the medical fluid comprises a cocktail having a predetermined expiration period during which the medical fluid must be delivered, wherein the data comprises the predetermined expiration period, and wherein the pump controller is configured for comparing the predetermined expiration period with a clock to confirm that the predetermined expiration period has not passed.  
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the pump further comprises a display coupled to the pump controller, the display configured for displaying the desired flow rate.  
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the reader comprises a pad comprising a radio frequency (RF) antenna therein for receiving signals from a RFID tag associated with the medical container when the medical container is placed in close proximity to the pad.  
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the pad comprises an upper surface onto which a medical container may be placed for receiving signals from the RFID tag.  
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the reader and pump are contained within a casing configured for having the medical container connected thereto, the reader configured for receiving the data from the RFID tag when the medical container is connected to the casing.  
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the desired flow rate comprises at least one flow rate.  
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the data further comprises a desired flow duration value.  
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the signals further comprise a first patient identifier.  
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , further comprising a terminal, the terminal comprising a second patient identifier and being configured for comparing the first patient identifier and the second patient identifier.  
     
     
         24 . A method for delivering fluid in a container, the method comprising: 
 providing a container comprising a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag storing data related to a fluid within the container;    receiving the data from the RFID tag using a radio frequency (RF) reader;    transferring a desired flow rate associated with the data to a pump controller; and    pumping the fluid from the container at the desired flow rate.    
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising extracting the desired flow rate from data received from the RFID tag by the RF reader.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the data received from the RFID tag comprises an identifier uniquely associated with the container, the method further comprising accessing a database to obtain the desired flow rate associated with the identifier.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising displaying the desired flow rate, and requesting confirmation to proceed with pumping the fluid from the container at the desired flow rate, the pumping step being performed only once confirmation to proceed is received.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the fluid comprises a cocktail having a predetermined expiration period during which the fluid must be delivered, wherein the data comprises the predetermined expiration period, the method further comprising comparing the predetermined expiration period with a clock to confirm that the predetermined expiration period has not passed.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the receiving step comprises automatically reading data from the RFID tag when the container is brought into close proximity with the RF reader.  
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the receiving step comprises automatically reading the data from the container when the medical container is connected to the pump.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the receiving step is initiated by inputting a read instruction at least one of before and after connecting the container to the pump.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the receiving step comprises transmitting a query signal to the RFID tag and receiving a data signal in response to the query signal, the data signal comprising the desired delivery rate.