Method and system for dose rate regulation in drug infusion treatment

1. A system for administering a drug solution by infusion, comprising:

a drug container ( 1 , 2 ) containing a label drug solution with a label concentration of a drug,

a drug delivery set comprising a fluid conduit ( 4 , 6 ) connected to the drug container ( 1 , 2 ), means for connecting the fluid conduit ( 4 , 6 ) to a patient ( 8 ), a detection chamber in the fluid conduit ( 4 , 6 ) between the drug container ( 1 , 2 ) and the patient connection means, and adjustment means for setting an infusion rate corresponding to a predetermined dose rate of the drug based on the label concentration,

analytical detection means ( 5 ) for non-invasive determination in the detection chamber of the identity and concentration of the drug in fluid withdrawn from the drug container into to the fluid conduit, and

means ( 7 ) for preventing infusion of drug solution from the drug container if the label drug is not identified, and

a control unit ( 10 ) arranged to control the adjustment means and configured to calculate and set the adjustment means to an adjusted infusion rate in order to maintain the predetermined dose rate when the drug concentration determined in the detection chamber deviates from the label concentration of the drug,

wherein said system further comprises a blood analysis system to measure the biological response to the actual dose rate, wherein information obtained therefrom is used as a variable in the dose rate setting.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit ( 10 ) is configured to perform analysis of the drug concentration sequentially at a plurality of times during the infusion process, and at each time, based on the determined drug concentration and the cumulated infused dose of the drug, calculate a new infusion rate for the drug solution which at least substantially maintains the predetermined dose rate.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the drug delivery set comprises an infusion pump ( 3 ), preferably a peristaltic pump or a syringe pump, and that the pump comprises the adjustment means for setting an infusion rate.

4. The system according to claim 3 , wherein the detection chamber, and preferably also the analytical detection means ( 5 ) and at least part of the control unit ( 10 ), are provided in the infusion pump ( 3 ).

5. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the analytical detection means use an analytical method selected from absorption spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectrophotometry, Raman spectrophotometry, NMR and ESR.

6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises a sensor being in contact with the patient and connected to the control unit, wherein the dose rate of the infused drug is adjusted in response to a physical parameter of the patient measured by the sensor.

7. The system according to claim 6 , wherein the physical parameter is temperature, pulse or EKG/ECG information.

8. A method of administering a drug solution by infusion, comprising the steps of:

providing a drug container with a label drug solution containing a label concentration of the drug,

coupling the drug container to a drug delivery set for administration of drug solution to a patient by infusion via a fluid path, wherein the fluid path contains a detection chamber,

based on the label concentration of the drug in the drug container, setting an infusion rate for the drug delivery set corresponding to a predetermined dose rate of the drug,

withdrawing drug solution from the drug container through the detection chamber and non-invasively determining the identity and concentration of the drug in the detection chamber,

if the label drug is identified, and the determined drug concentration corresponds to the label concentration, permitting infusion of the drug solution at the set infusion rate, and

if the label drug is not identified, preventing infusion of drug solution,

and

if the label drug is identified but the determined drug concentration does not correspond to the label drug concentration, calculating and setting an adjusted infusion rate for the drug delivery set which at least substantially will maintain the predetermined dose rate of the drug, and permitting infusion of the drug solution at the adjusted infusion rate,

wherein the method further comprises

using information from a blood analysis system as a variable in the dose rate setting, said blood analysis system measuring the biological response to the actual dose rate.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein determination of the drug concentration is performed sequentially a plurality of times during the infusion process, and that each time, based on the determined drug concentration and the cumulated infused dose of the drug, a new infusion rate for the drug solution is calculated and set which infusion rate at least substantially will maintain the predetermined dose rate.

10. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the predetermined dose rate is varied according to a predetermined scheme with different fixed dose rates at two or more different intervals.

11. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising measuring a physical parameter of the patient and adjusting the dose rate of the infused drug in response to the measured physical parameter of the patient.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the physical parameter is temperature, pulse or EKG/ECG.

13. The system according to claim 2 , wherein the drug delivery set comprises an infusion pump ( 3 ), preferably a peristaltic pump or a syringe pump, and that the pump comprises the adjustment means for setting an infusion rate.

14. The system according to claim 2 , wherein the analytical detection means use an analytical method selected from absorption spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectrophotometry, Raman spectrophotometry, NMR and ESR.

15. The system according to claim 3 , wherein the analytical detection means use an analytical method selected from absorption spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectrophotometry, Raman spectrophotometry, NMR and ESR.

16. The system according to claim 4 , wherein the analytical detection means use an analytical method selected from absorption spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectrophotometry, Raman spectrophotometry, NMR and ESR.

17. The system according to claim 2 , wherein the system further comprises a sensor being in contact with the patient and connected to the control unit, wherein the dose rate of the infused drug is adjusted in response to a physical parameter of the patient measured by the sensor.

18. The system according to claim 3 , wherein the system further comprises a sensor being in contact with the patient and connected to the control unit, wherein the dose rate of the infused drug is adjusted in response to a physical parameter of the patient measured by the sensor.

19. The system according to claim 4 , wherein the system further comprises a sensor being in contact with the patient and connected to the control unit, wherein the dose rate of the infused drug is adjusted in response to a physical parameter of the patient measured by the sensor.

20. The system according to claim 5 , wherein the system further comprises a sensor being in contact with the patient and connected to the control unit, wherein the dose rate of the infused drug is adjusted in response to a physical parameter of the patient measured by the sensor.