MDiTV News: Making Medical Technology Foolproof

Millions of infusion pumps are used in hospitals, nursing facilities and homes. The pumps regulate the amount of painkillers, antibiotics, chemotherapy, insulin or nutrition delivered directly into a patient's system. The pumps are a great convenience when they work properly, but about a hundred people a year in the US die when something goes wrong with one.

When a death or injury or other problem with an infusion pump is reported to the Federal Food and Drug Administration, which happens more than 11,000 times a year, the typical response has been to investigate and if necessary recall some pumps. Between 2005 and 2009, the FDA says there were 87 recalls of infusion pumps due to safety concerns.