Robotic system for i.v. antineoplastic drug preparation: description and preliminary evaluation under simulated conditions.

A robotic system for preparing doses of i.v. antineoplastic drugs is described, and measurements made with the system are compared for accuracy and reproducibility with those made by pharmacists and technicians. System hardware consists of a robotic arm, a 16-bit microcomputer, a bar-code reader, a voice synthesizer, and an electronic balance. The software includes a menu-driven main program, executable files for each robotic activity, and an interface to allow control to pass between the program and the files. The program has routines for matching the software to the hardware; for entering information about the patient, the name of the drug ordered, and the dose; for checking the dose; for selecting the number and size of the vials to be used; for specifying the manipulations of the robotic arm; for printing labels; and for maintaining records. The robot fills an order by getting and placing a vial, inserting a needle into it and withdrawing the drug, weighing the vial, agitating the container to dissolve its contents, reading a bar code, placing a syringe in a syringe manipulator, and getting an i.v. container and injecting the drug into it. Detection of any errors by a series of self-checks arrests execution of an order. No significant differences in accuracy and precision were found between the robotic system and humans performing the same tasks under simulated conditions. The robotic system required less time than humans and eliminated the possibility of direct human contact with the i.v. admixture. Under simulated conditions, a robotic system developed to assist in the preparation of i.v. antineoplastic drugs was as accurate as a manual system and was more time efficient.