Eli5: why does an IV drop into that capsule that’s half full of iv and half air?

Question

Eli5: why does an IV drop into that capsule that’s half full of iv and half air?

In: 1726

Answer 1

This is so that we can see if the IV is flowing. There are some instances where you will have multiple IV’s flowing all attached to each other in a configuration called piggy-back. Add to this that sometimes there are multiple pumps administering meds. The drop falling is an easy way to see that this particular line is flowing.

Another thing, though not so common in hospitals, but more in the field is that depending on your drip-set, usually 10 drops per ml or 60 drops per ml for a microset, you can control dosing. By counting the drops, you can calculate how many milligrams or micrograms of a med a person is getting per minute.