Date / 2003-06-11
The Infusion Dynamics Power Infuser Earns Its Wings -- Again
Device passes Air Force tests with flying colors
PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA (June 11, 2003) - The US Air Force has pronounced the Infusion Dynamics Power Infuser® "safe-to-fly." Air Force medics can now use the miniature rapid infusion pump for life-saving intravenous fluid resuscitation while transporting patients in fixed-wing USAF aeromedical evacuation aircraft.
Proclaimed airworthy a year ago by the US Army, the Power Infuser required additional testing to earn its Air Force wings. The pump successfully completed all tests conducted by the Aeromedical Test Branch (ATB) at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas. The 311 Human Systems Program Office issued the "safe-to-fly" report.
ATB testers subjected the Power Infuser to vibrations and sudden loss of cabin pressure. And they used the pump aboard a McDonnell-Douglas C-17 aircraft in flight to assess setup time, ability to remain secured, performance, and human factors. In issuing its recommendation, the Air Force relied on data from electromagnetic compatibility, extreme temperature and altitude tests conducted by the Army last year.
"This approval is another critical milestone for us," notes Paul Loughnane, President of Infusion Dynamics. "The Power Infuser is now available throughout the full spectrum of military medical care -- precisely the mission for which it was designed. The certification also assures the civilian aeromedical community, a key market for the pump, that the device is flightworthy."
Infusion Dynamics and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, MD, jointly conceived the Power Infuser to treat wounded soldiers on the battlefield and in transport. Using Infusion Dynamics' patented mechanism, the pump delivers controlled fluid boluses at rates up to 100 ml per minute -- several times that of conventional infusion pumps. Yet it is small enough to strap to a patient's arm. The pump received FDA clearance in 1999 and won a "Medical Design Excellence Award" in 2000, its first year on the market.
Infusion Dynamics is a privately-held medical device company located outside Philadelphia, PA. For more information please visit the company's website at www.infusiondynamics.com .
** Note: The following press release was taken from the news archives and presented in its entirety. Infusion Dynamics was acquired by ZOLL Medical Corporation March 17, 2004.
