OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to design, construct, and assess an automated system to perform standardized evaluation of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) devices. METHODS: We developed a computer-controlled test station. The computer activates the PCA device under test through a purpose-built serial interface device. The dose delivered is weighed on an electronic balance; then, at a predetermined interval, the computer interrogates the balance via the serial interface device to determine the weight gain. A robotic digit simulates patient button presses for four commonly used demand mechanisms. Software programs were written to test three types of patient-demand profile. RESULTS: The automated system is sufficiently accurate for evaluating PCA devices and has been successfully used to perform and evaluate several thousand demands on six different models of PCA device. CONCLUSIONS: The test station has proved to be simple to use and extremely reliable, and has enabled the successful evaluation of several types of PCA device.
OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to design, construct, and assess an automated system to perform standardized evaluation of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) devices. METHODS: We developed a computer-controlled test station. The computer activates the PCA device under test through a purpose-built serial interface device. The dose delivered is weighed on an electronic balance; then, at a predetermined interval, the computer interrogates the balance via the serial interface device to determine the weight gain. A robotic digit simulates patient button presses for four commonly used demand mechanisms. Software programs were written to test three types of patient-demand profile. RESULTS: The automated system is sufficiently accurate for evaluating PCA devices and has been successfully used to perform and evaluate several thousand demands on six different models of PCA device. CONCLUSIONS: The test station has proved to be simple to use and extremely reliable, and has enabled the successful evaluation of several types of PCA device.