Metrology for drug delivery

Abstract In various recently published studies, it is argued that there are underestimated risks with infusion technology, i.e., adverse incidents believed to be caused by inadequate administration of the drugs. This is particularly the case for applications involving very low-flow rates, i.e., <1 ml/h and applications involving drug delivery by means of multiple pumps. The risks in infusing are caused by a lack of awareness, incompletely understood properties of the complete drug delivery system and a lack of a proper metrological infrastructure for low-flow rates. Technical challenges such as these were the reason a European research project “Metrology for Drug Delivery” was started in 2011. In this special issue of Biomedical Engineering, the results of that project are discussed.