We are looking for a new syringe driver to standardise on and would appreciate any comments as to how good (or otherwise) the pumps you are currently using are. Originally we bought the Graseby MS2000 which has been excellent. Then we bought the Welmed / Ivac / Alaris P3000, which has also been O.K., but now the P3000 is coming to the end of its production, we have to look again.
Any comments would be much appreciated - even about the companies rather than the product - what are they like to deal with and how helpful are they when you have problems ?

We have around 40 graseby 3100 series pumps. We virtually never see them in the workshop and they seem nurse friendly.

Thanks, I've seen the 3100 (I think a couple sneaked in through the back door!) but Graseby are bringing out a new pump next month so I'm going to wait for that.
What else do you use ?
How helpful do you find Graseby when you do have a problem ?

I believe one of the sponsors of this web site Arcomedical have a new range of syringe drivers/pumps. If they are as good as the pumps they would be worth looking at. Have some experience of Fresenius syringe pumps, contact me for more info.

Roy
The 3100 is a bit 'long in the tooth' but I like to see something that is easy to fix & has stood the test of of time. We do have other syringe drivers, mainly Alaris P7000, which are very good until they go wrong. The arcomed syringe drivers are very nice and make sexy robotic sounds, but they have not stood the test of time. I will wait.
Graseby have been going through a sticky patch as far as customer service is concerned, but we have been promised?? that things are changing.

OK, OK, so I'm really biased here, I'm now a sales rep for Graseby, BUT I was Chief EBME Tech for 10 years and techy for 7 prior to that so I think I can have my say. The new Graseby syringe pump is being officially launched in November but some of you may be seeing pre-production models already. It is called the Omnifuse. I'm not giving away any secrets about it but if you want any specs just ask. For what it's worth, it looks PDG to me. Those who know me will know that if I thought it didn't I'd just stay schtum!
Meanwhile guys (& gals) if there's anything Graseby you need to know, I can probably crowbar it out of someone. No promises though.
Regards & keep up the good work.

We have tended to go for 3200 rather than 3100 purely because they have event log and optional pressure transducer,ie you can run with or without it in ,whereas our Ivac 770 pumps will not run without an expensive consumable.I have also heard that a new range is on the way,starting with 3300 PCA.
Ther have been lots of mods to 3000 range,which is a hassle.They are not very well protected against fluid ingress,but generally,Graseby are good on spares.

Thanks to the people who've posted their comments.
We've got a few 3300 PCA pumps, but some Ivac PCA pumps as well. The staff much prefer the Ivacs !
I agree that Graseby are good for spares - very helpful - but if you send something back for repair it sometimes takes AGES !
Every hospital in the country must use infusion pumps of some sort - so come on, where's your input !

Have a look at the Braun perfusor series of infusion devices. We used Ivac P3000 series and the Braun perfusors to replace our aged Ivac710's Both units were received well by the staff and no problems were encountered by ebme.

[This message has been edited by Julian (edited 15 September 2000).]

We have standardised on the 3100 in our equipment library and P7000 in ITU/CCU. They both have had modifcations but the 3100 has been around for a LOT longer than the P7000, we had the P7000 when it first came out - bad mistake, but to fair Alaris did swap them all out and the Mk2 is much better.

Someone said the 3100 is easy to use and so it is but for me it has two flaws

we like to set devices to zero in the library so the user must set a rate, the 3100 will not do this; we set them to 0.1ml/hr, suprising how many come back still set to 0.1ml/hr though.

the 3100 defaults to the rate it was last actually run at, not the last set rate. Many users seem incapable of understanding the implications of this. Of course this is the reason why we can't set them to zero.

I have not seen the new Graseby, maybe it will aswer my dreams but as yet I have not seen the perfect syringe pump, the new Braun looks good but has no history(maybe it does by now).