Horizontal Syringe Pump for Neonatal Feeding

           We designed and built a horizontal syringe pump with the purpose of feeding in neonatal intensive care units (NICU). The horizontal position of the syringe in this device ensures the proper nutrients are received by the neonatal patients. This is possible because in the vertical position nutrients and fats from the formula or breast milk separate and the most important nutrients are at the top of the substance and not delivered to the patient. With the horizontal position the nutrients separate in the syringe but are still able to be delivered to the patient. Most nutrients are lost in the first 30 minutes of a feeding, (Zozaya et al, 2018). By using horizontal syringe pump this can be avoided more than any other alternative feeding pumps. 

            Our syringe pump is designed with an Arduino board, an LCD and keypad buttons. The stepper motor has steps with four adjustable settings for flow rate, also known as patient feeding rate. 

            The code required to run this device is long and includes many defined variables and functions with while loops and equations to adjust timing and speed. There can be many adjustments made within the code to ensure maximum safety features and ability to shut off and remove the syringe earlier than the assigned time if needed. We can further break this project down by having a long coding process using an LCD and stepper motor with different speed set functions, a long mechanical setting including a 3D design and print.

            Our scope was large enough to include four working students, with advice from industry experts, such as staff or fellow students with a background in electronics or other related studies. We were required to maintain a record of different technical difficulties for a physical logbook which will be able to be used at a later date as guidance for anybody who wants to build a project like this from the very start.

References

Zozaya, C., García-Serrano, A., Fontecha, J., Redondo-Bravo, L., Sánchez-González, V., Montes, M. T., & Saenz de Pipaon, M. (2018). Fat loss in continuous enteral feeding of the preterm infant: How much, what and when is it lost? Nutrients, 10(7), 809.