Method to provide injection system parameters for injecting fluid into patient
Automated injection system disclosed in this application advantageously provides physicians with a simplified interface for selecting fluid sources, such as saline, contrast, or a mixture of both, to inject at high pressures. The injector system may comprise a multi-use subassembly, a single-use subassembly, a fitting to fluidly connect the multi-use and single-use subassemblies, a hand held controller, a user interface, and an injector housing.
1. A method to provide injection system parameters for injecting a fluid into a patient, comprising:
placing a multi-use subassembly into an injector housing, the multi-use subassembly comprising a first fluid barrel and a second fluid barrel, a first valve and a second valve, the injector housing comprising a first valve actuator and a second valve actuator;
selecting on a first screen of a user interface a contrast-to-saline ratio of the fluid to be injected by adjusting a percentage of the contrast contained within the fluid and adjusting a percentage of the saline contained within the fluid so that the fluid to be injected is a mixture of both contrast and saline, the first valve actuator moves the first valve to a first valve fill position to fill the first fluid barrel with saline and the second valve actuator moves the second valve to a second valve fill position to fill the second fluid barrel with contrast in order to obtain the selected contrast-to-saline ratio of the fluid to be injected;
displaying a second screen of the user interface which is different from the first screen, the second screen having an option to inject the fluid into the patient, selection of the inject option resulting in the first valve actuator to move the first valve to a first inject position and the second valve actuator to move the second valve to a second inject position in order to inject the fluid.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising notifying a user with a visual notification after receiving the user selection.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the visual indication comprises either a disposable sub-assembly has been properly installed, the injection system has been armed, the injection system is performing an injection, or the injection system has been disarmed.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user interface further comprises a display unit that is attached to the injection system or a bed rail.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the display unit is attached to the bed rail or injector system by a movable arm.
6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising the steps of:
pulling the moveable arm closer to the user; and
folding the movable arm.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying on the first screen of the user interface a plurality of selectable options for controlling the injection system.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the user selection for one of the selectable options further comprises a volume option, pressure option, and a rise time option.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the user selection for one of the selectable options further comprises a cardiac procedure option, a peripheral procedure option, or a physician list option.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein changing a system parameter or setting includes a preset injection parameter being populated.
11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of selectable options for controlling the injection system comprises the contrast-to-saline ratio and at least one of the following: flow rate, volume, pressure, or rise time.