Neolines

Large premature babies and certain newborns require special attention. Because of the low flow rates used (between 0.3 and 30ml/h), nutrition and drug administration in neonatology are provided particularly by intravenous infusion systems. Generally speaking, the systems used in neonatal intensive care units are variations on those used for adults, where the margin of tolerance in terms of dosages administered is much greater than it should be for a more vulnerable category such as premature babies and newborns. Indeed, errors in the dosage of vasoactive drugs, anesthetics, anticoagulants or even insulin in neonatology, can have critical effects: toxicity, long-term sequelae or even the death of the newborn.

This is why intelligent infusion, where flow management and drug administration are automatically managed by control-command systems, may be one of the best alternatives to avoid the various aforementioned problems. In this project, we first study the impact of the various components of an infusion line on flow and pressure variations, in the context of use in neonatology, to improve fluid flow management in these systems. Secondly, we propose an innovative, miniaturized and reliable infusion device design dedicated to neonatology in order to improve neonatal care and prevent the risks of incorrect dosages that can lead to toxicity, long-term illness or even death in newborns.

Project funded by VYGON.