Improving the Safety of Infusion Therapy in Low Resource Countries: Electronically Controlled Gravity Feed Infusion Set

Project management

© Philippa Ngaju Makobore

Philippa Ngaju Makobore,
Uganda Industrial Research Institute, Kampala, Uganda
in cooperation with

© Johannes Horsch

Johannes Horsch,
Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation, Mannheim

Project description

Infusions are used in medicine all over the world to administer vital medicines, to ensure fluid supply in an emergency or to stabilise a patient's circulation. In Ugandan hospitals, gravity infusion systems are used as standard, which do not allow precise control of the dose and lead to incorrect infusion dosages.

In the framework of the German-Ugandan cooperation project ECFS-IS, a low-cost infusion controller for safe infusions, which was developed before prior to the collaboration by the Uganda Industrial Research Institute Uganda (UIRI), was further developed and the technology transfer of this medical technology solution in the form of commercialisation was prepared.

The ECGF product controlled the infusion with the help of a drip sensor and a valve and closes the gap between uncontrolled gravity infusion and the high-precision, expensive infusion pump. Safety and efficacy of the previous version were studied in a clinical trial with 160 children. Technical problems were solved to bring the device into use, including an electronically controlled proportional valve. The long-term outcome is that manufacturing in Uganda and distribution in East Africa should have a sustainable positive impact of the project on local structures.

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