Dive Brief:

• Baxter has received clearance to market its latest smart infusion pump in Australia, the European Union and New Zealand.

• The device, Evo IQ, is designed to prevent nurses from accidently delivering an unsafe dose of an infused drug.

• Baxter has tried to simplify the setup and operation of the device to differentiate it from rival products made by companies including B. Braun and BD.

Dive Insight:

It is now more than 15 years since infusion pumps featuring dose-error reduction systems (DERS) came to market. For decades prior to that, hospitals used pumps that placed few limits on the rate of infusion. If a nurse entered the wrong rate of infusion, the pump would comply with the erroneous, dangerous instruction, leading to injuries and deaths.

Evo IQ is the latest in a line of smart pumps designed to make it impossible for dosing errors to harm patients. The device is based on the same central idea as its predecessors. Hospitals create a list of drugs and fluids and associate them with dose ranges. If a nurse tries to administer a dose outside of a product’s range, the device alerts them to the possible error. In some cases, the smart infusion pump may prevent delivery of the medication.

With B. Braun, BD and other medtech companies selling products with the same basic function as Evo IQ, Baxter has sought to differentiate its through peripheral features. These features are intended to make it easier to setup and use the device.

Baxter has tried to streamline the essential setup process of creating the drug library and is making its specialists available to hospitals to help with the work. Once operational, Evo IQ will automatically default to the drug library when it is turned on. Baxter has also cut the steps needed to start an infusion and equipped Evo IQ to display the drug name and dose limits at the point of use.

Baxter is now set to start finding out how the infusion pump is received by hospitals. The company has received clearance to market the device in Australia, the European Union and New Zealand. Starting in the third quarter, Baxter will begin commercializing Evo IQ in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In parallel, Baxter will work to gain clearance to sell Evo IQ in other markets.