EBME Forums Forums Management Medical Equipment Management MRI compatible infusion pump

We're trying to source an infusion/syringe pump that can be used in a MRI environment.
What do other hospitals use and does anyone know of any suppliers in the UK?

We have 2 B Braun Perfuser Compact syringe pumps for MRI use.

Medex Medfusion 3500 syringe pump is MRI compatible for static magnetic fields up to 150 gauss

The MHRA evaluated the Medex Medfusion 3500.

The link is:

http://devices.mhra.gov.uk/mda/mdawebsit...HRA%2003116.pdf

By the way, we have 2 Medex 3500's which were purchaed specifically for use in the MRI suite.

In the US, there is a new pump called the MRidium 3850. It is compatable in a 3T, up to the 10000 gauss line. It will be available in UK and Europe by the end of the year. Check it out at www.iradimed.com

Hi,
B Braun Perfusor Compact syringe pump is OK for MRI as well as general use with our past experience. Since it is general purpose it is economical too. If any one has difference of opinion or any reported problem with BBraun perfusor compact in MR Suite, please respond with the problem.

If you are still looking for one, or indeed any other MRI compatible equipment, you could give our sales department a ring.... i hear they are always happy for the business!! Invivo UK Ltd, 01422 881620

Well--a few problems with the B Braun Perfusor Syringe pump. 1--it is magnetic. It needs to be kept a safe distance from the MRI, and if too close, can fly into the magnet causing injury to the patient.
2--It has not been tested in an MRI environment, the scanner may interfere with the operation of the pump (not documented yet, but I would not want to take that chance)
3--It does not infuse large volume infusions, just from a syringe. What if my patient is on a Heparin infusion?
There are others on the market now, the MRidium 3850 that address all of these issues.

Sounds like a sales pitch to me. You can actually use any infusion pump / syringe driver you like in an MRI so long as you have them enclosed in a Faraday cage. In a previous hospital we used a "MRI Caddy" with 3 Medex something or other in it.
Edit try this link magmedix

That is absolutly not true. The Magnetic field will adversely effect an electronic pump, causing inacuracy, false alarms or the pump to stop completely.
Medex is approved for use in the MRI.
Do you want to risk your patients life by using an pump off lable?
Of course, when you do that, you have to load the pump outside the scanner, as you have to remove them from the caddy to do so, and if you are in the room, they can be pulled into the bore. That slows flow through time.
It may be fine for sedation started in the room, but if the patient comes to MRI on a Heparin drip, how do you get the bag of heparin and tubing into the MEDEX syringe pump?
By risking infection by drawing up heparin out of the bag into a syringe, disconnecting the original infusion and connecting the one from the syringe pump.

"but if the patient comes to MRI on a Heparin drip, how do you get the bag of heparin and tubing into the MEDEX syringe pump?"


Medex pumps ARE approved for use in MRI WITHOUT any cage or case whatsoever and can be loaded, programmed and viewed quite normally.

Yes, they are approved, but that does not answer the question of how to quickly and easily transition a Heparin drip (0r other critical medication infusion) from the hospital large volume pump and bag already infusing to the syringe that is needed for the MEDEX syringe pump. They are a great pump for sedation purposes.

Hello flivrn,

You are correct that the electronic pump may malfunction if placed very close to the MRI scanner.

But we have never had issues with the MEDFUSION 3500 pumps in the MRI scanner room if placed outside of the 5 Gauss line this goes for both 1.5 T and 3 T scanners. We have not had a single case where the MEDFUSION 3500 has malfucntioned or given inaccurate readings or adversely effected the pump mechanism once placed at certain safe distance from the MRI bore area.

We use these pumps for Propofol infusion and not a single case have we had any issues while scanning the patient. You can place these pumps in a Copper or Aluminium shielded box and they work fine as well.

The only issue you might have when placing these close to the main bore area of the scanner is inducing noise interference into the MRI images. Otherwise if placed outside of the 5 Gauss Line you will not have any issues with non compatible MRI infusion pumps.

Thanks
Tim

That's nice information, Tim.

But don't expect a response from flivrn any time soon. It's been seven years since we saw him (her?) on here!

Flivrn
Is this short for:
FLorida IntraVenous Registered Nurse?
I do not think you are being unbiased and probably trying to be commercial. The company you "recommend" is in Florida.
There are rules on this site about commercial advetising and you seem to be breaking them.

Huw, you might want to consider blocking flivrn.

THE BBraun Perfusor/Infusor range can be used in the MRI environment if they are in the MRI compatible box they provide (sell).
This is especially useful if you use this pump as standard in the hospital as you do not need a dedicated pump with the inherent problem and risk of swapping syringes.

Robert

He/she hasn't logged on since that post - but point taken.