a person in a black shirt and mask stands next to another person in a white lab coat and blue mask looking at a machine with a iv bag attached to a poll

Nursing Engineering Partnership

About 90% of hospital patients receive an intravenous (IV) medication infusion during their stay, yet IV delivery is one of the most error-prone tasks in acute care medicine. Unfortunately, the most common IV infusion pumps are outdated and present safety issues that carry significant risk to patient safety. To understand and solve technology- based health care problems like this, we must utilize innovative and collaborative partnerships.

The Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation at UMass Amherst is on a mission to foster these types of partnerships. Juan Jiménez, associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, is mentoring postdoctoral fellow Jeannine Blake, a nurse with a critical care background and the first PhD graduate from the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing to enter an engineering post-doctoral fellowship.

a person wearing a white lab coat standing in a lab with equipment cabinets and bottles in front and behind them

With a grant from the Marieb Center, Jiménez and Blake are collaborating to better understand how properties of IV smart pumps can affect the flow of medication and safety of IV therapy. Blake has also received a prestigious American Society for Engineering Education eFellows award sponsored by the National Science Foundation tosupport her fellowship and continued dedication to this research.

The two approach the task with a common goal but from different perspectives. Blake understands the decisions clinicians must make when using technology for patient care at the bedside, and she has researched flow-rate accuracy of IV smart pumps during her PhD dissertation related to clinically relevant variables. Jiménez studies the interaction between fluid flow and biology, by integrating fluid dynamic engineering and vascular biology. His research has included a novel engineering approach to cardiovascular stent design, lymphatic fluid flow and disease, and the effects of flow diverter stents on cerebral blood flow when treating cerebral aneurysms.

This new nursing-engineering research partnership has the potential to lead to innovation related to IV smart pumps that improve patient safety and nursing workflow related to this ubiquitous technology.

GO FURTHER

The Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation was made possible by two visionary financial gifts. Michael ’76 and Theresa (Murphy) ’77 Hluchyj, longtime supporters of both the College of Engineering and the College of Nursing, committed $1 million in seed funding for this collaborative center. “Innovation is often accelerated at the intersection of different academic disciplines,” Michael Hluchyj said when announcing the gift. “The worldwide health crises resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic make clear the critical need for innovative solutions in clinical settings where both nursing and engineering play vital roles.” Inspired by the transformational possibilities enabled by the Hluchyjs’ generosity, the Elaine Nicpon Marieb Charitable Foundation gave a gift of $21.5 million to the College of Nursing, with a significant portion designated to support the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation.

Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation