Device for the pre-programmable infusion of liquids

Claim 1

Apparatus for the pre-programmable infusion of liquids into a patient's body, comprising a microdosing unit having supply means for supplying the liquid at a controllable infusion rate in response to programming signals, a control device operable for supplying selected programming signals to said microdosing unit for correspondingly controlling the rate of supply of the liquid thereby, said control device having program storage means (5) for storing at least one predeterminable control program (31-40), which provides for the generation of respective different programmed sequences of infusion amounts as a function of time, each of the respective different programmed sequences of infusion amounts as a function of time providing for the delivery of a respective different total liquid amount by said supply means over a relatively short time span of not more than three hours, with the different total liquid amounts lying within a predetermined available range of amounts suitable for selection by the patient, said program storage means (5) being controllable by each of a respective series of manually generated selection signals each representing a respective different one of said total liquid amounts to be infused within said available range of amounts and beginning at a given starting point, to generate the respective corresponding one of said programmed sequences of infusion amounts as a function of time over the relatively short time span thereof in accordance with said one control program stored therein, such that the respective corresponding total liquid amount is supplied by said microdosing unit in said relatively short time span, said control device having manually actuatable control means (3, 23) coupled with said program storage means (5) and being selectively manually actuable by the patient to respective positions corresponding to respective total liquid amounts within said available range of amounts to supply respective ones of said series of said manually generated selection signals and to supply the given starting time to the program storage means (5), whereby the microdosing unit is responsive to patient manual selection of one of said total liquid amounts from said available range of amounts and a desired starting point based on actual real time patient need while supplying such patient-selected total amount over a relatively short time span and at a rate as a function of time which can be pre-programmed by the patient's physician according to the characteristics of the individual patient.