# Smart Intravenous Infusion Dosing System
## 6 Results and Discussion
In this case, the battery capacity to power the proposed system is determined by  
\[\text{Q}=\text{E}/\text{U} \tag{1}\]  
where Q (mAh) is battery capacity, E (Wh) is energy stored in the battery, and U (V) is battery voltage. If the system needs to operate for 24 h at the voltage of 9 V DC (max consumption 45 mA), a rechargeable NIMH battery of 3000 (2667) mAh is required. The accuracy of the data from the capacitive sensors was tested using an ultrasonic sensor HC-SR04. The ultrasonic sensor was placed on the opposite side of the IV bottle, above the IV liquid. It should be noted that the IV bottle was previously opened because this sensor is not able to detect drops of liquid directly through the drip chamber or the IV bottle. By simultaneously detecting the liquid level in the IV bottle using ultrasound and capacitive sensors, and by comparing the obtained data, we concluded that the capacitive sensors reliably and accurately detect the liquid level in the IV bottle. Functional test of the liquid detection and signaling system in IV bottle was performed by measuring the time from the moment of activation of the upper capacitive sensor on IV bottle (MAX level) to the moment of infusion expiration (MIN 2 level), and the signal for closing the flow valve. Testing was performed using an IV bottle with 500 mL of saline, with the distance from the bottle to the cannula being L = 1 m (see Figure 1). In addition, for the purposes of this test, the roller clamp was fully open to measure the drip time at maximum IV fluid flow. The cannula that is most often used in IV therapy or blood transfusion was chosen--it is pink for identification and has a flow rate of 65 mL/min [88]. A total of 10 measurements were performed. Table 5 shows the measurement results. As can be seen from Table 5, the drip time of all 10 IV bottles was in the interval 6.78-7.40 min, while the main time was 7.01 \(\pm\) 0.15 min. During the sixth and seventh measurements, a short stoppage of the infusion flow was noticed due to the deformation of the IV bottle, but without much influence on the final drip time. If the shortest and longest time is excluded from the analysis, the results are very close, and thus the main time is 6.99 \(\pm\) 0.05. Therefore, the rate of dripping of liquid from the IV bottle is influenced by the type and diameter of the cannula, the position of the IV bottle in relation to the cannula, the appearance of vacuum in the IV bottle, but also the type of IV liquid--e.g., blood plasma also affects the flow rate; however, the condition of the veins is crucial, especially in oncology patients using cytostatics intravenously. After several months of IV chemotherapy, the patient's veins are no longer able to withstand daily IV therapy and then become weak and porous. Therefore, during daily IV chemotherapy, it is often necessary to remove the cannula and apply a new one to another vein, often from several attempts. Thinner cannulas are then used--usually blue with a flow rate of 35 mL/min [88]. Therefore, the duration of IV chemotherapy is significantly prolonged, which has negative effects on the full effect of the drug. The proposed smart IV dosing system should help patients and preserve their veins by preventing blood from returning to the IV tubing and clogging the cannula during IV chemotherapy. Finally, Table 6 presents a comparison of modern IV infusion detection, signaling, and monitoring systems with the system we proposed. The comparison was made on the basis of the presence/absence of the following elements: (i) a system for detecting fluid levels in the IV bottle, (ii) signaling--any type of alarm, (iii) a system for regulating and closing the infusion flow, (iv) monitoring system in patient rooms, (v) remote monitoring system at the nurse room, (vi) database, and (vi) IoT technology.