Final Specifications

Size and Appearance:
The PCA pump is designed to minimize the overall size and maximize the convenience for the patient. This product must be portable and small enough to hold in the palm of one’s hand:
-Small pump system similar to an asthma inhaler
-“L-shaped” body consisting of the mechanical base and a canister
-No bigger than 5 inches high and 3 inches wide

Source of Power for Mechanism:
To allow the patient optimum flexibility with the PCA pump, the mechanism will use a rechargeable battery operating system that will power both the pumping mechanism for the drug and the computer system:
-Ideal battery life will be 14 hours
-Recharged using a wall adapter

Mechanical locking system:
For security measures, the patient must activate two buttons on the back of the pump to release the dosage of medication. After these two buttons are pressed, the patient can receive the medicine by pressing a large button on the top of the pump.
-Safety buttons are positioned to put the canister in an “unlock” mode
-Pins built within the canister are aligned with the safety buttons
-Once the safety buttons are pressed, the pins release the canister from “lock mode” to “unlock mode”
-The large button on the top allows the drug to pass from the pump to the patient’s mouth
-If all 3 buttons are pressed correctly, a dose will successfully be released and recorded in the computer system

Mechanical release system of drug:
The pain medication is ejected in a gaseous form. The formation of gas is accomplished by having the drug in a highly pressurized state in the canister and then having it released into an area of lower pressure.
-Canister contains 200 doses of medication in a pressurized liquid form
-Individual doses are released via a tube from the canister to the base
-A mechanized system applies pressure to the bottom of the canister to force a dose to be released from the tube
-Once released from the tube, gas flows through the base directly to the patient’s mouth

Care and maintenance of system:
-Since this is a system that is placed in a patient’s mouth, the mouthpiece of the system must be removable to ensure a bacteria free surface. In addition, the exterior surface of the PCA pump will be made out of smooth plastic to ensure overall cleanliness.
-In terms of power maintenance, batteries can be changed by unscrewing a small door at the bottom of the pump.