Prototype of Signature™ Pump by IVAC Corporation

Prototype of Signature™ Pump by IVAC Corporation

Medical Equipment

Anesthesia

Infusions, Intravenous – instrumentation

Brigham and Women’s hospital anesthesiologist and bioengineer, James Philip, ME, MD, invented and developed the resistance monitoring infusion pump. Flow into an IV was varied a small amount and the resulting pressure change was measured to determine infusion resistance. The amount of resistance was used to tell (with an alarm) when fluid was infusing into tissues instead of properly into veins, thus avoiding potential injury to the patient. This prototype demonstrated what the commercial IVAC Signature™ Pump (US Patent 4898576) would do. The commercial product was used throughout the healthcare industry for many years.

James Philip

1986

physical object

From James Philip, ME, MD, (Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine), personal collection

James Philip, ME, MD