Alaris vs Plum vs Baxter Pump vs Braun: Comparison with a Newer Model

by Sara Alvarado

Updated October 21, 2024
BD AlarisPlumBaxter, and B. Braun brands dominate the top positions in infusion pump rankings as the largest sellersmajority global market share players, and best in KLAS. These brands largely dominate the infusion pump market because their infusion pumps are popular for safe, reliable, and accurate fluid delivery to patients. Besides, all four brands have several categories of infusion pumps in their catalogs, giving them a competitive advantage against other brands.

But these brands have also received prioritized attention for performance limitations. For example, all four brands have recorded Class 1 recalls documented by the FDA in recent years for issues related to, among others:

  • Delayed or failed infusion. 
  • False occlusion alarms.
  • Inaudible alarm signals. 
  • Faulty batteries with a lower lifecycle and decreased overall runtime after full charge.
With the infusion pump market recording a steady CAGR of 7.4% and projected to grow from $11.92 billion in 2024 to $21.13 billion in 2032, newer brands are working to establish a place in the infusion pump market alongside the biggest brands.

Despite their leaner catalogs, these newer entrants are committed to ensuring accuracy, safety, and utmost reliability in fluid delivery.

To compare newer and more established infusion pump brands, this article focuses on the main infusion pump models of the following brands: 

  • Autoinfu: A portable peristaltic infusion pump in a compact vertical design, allowing easy portability for hospital and home care settings. It has a double CPU for enhanced fluid delivery safety in various hospital settings, including emergency, outpatient, internal medicine, ICU, pediatrics, OB/GYN, NICU, surgery, and oncology. You can set fluid infusion in the Volumetric, Drip, Time, and Drug Modes.
infusion pump
  • Alaris: The BD Alaris infusion system is best known for its modular design. This design allows up to four infusion pumps to be stacked and controlled at one Point of Care Unit (PCU), enhancing infusion and workflow efficiency. The brand’s main infusion pump module, Alaris 8100, delivers fluids, blood and blood products, and medications to adults, neonatal, and pediatric patients by continuous or intermittent modes in the hospital setup.
Alaris Carefusion
  • Plum: The award-winning Plum 360 IV pump is ICU Medical’s pride in infusion pumps. Its core distinguishing feature is the capacity to simultaneously deliver multi-line therapies for non-interacting medications with the same pump. The pump works best in the hospital and clinic setups for IV therapies, given the bulk design that makes it more stationery than portable.
Hospira Plum 360
  • Baxter: The Baxter brand is popular for its focus on patient safety in medication infusion. Baxter infusion pumps rely on a real-time wireless drug library update to ensure up-to-date drug library compliance, especially for high-risk infusions. The brand’s Spectrum IQ Infusion System advances the efficiency features of the brand’s other infusion modules to set a new safety standard in medication administration.
Baxter sigma
  • Braun: B Braun’s uniqueness in infusion therapy equipment is mainly in its Infusomat Space pump. The pump is specially designed for acute patient cases in inpatient and outpatient hospital settings. Its compact design enhances its portability. Its independent modularity makes it an optimal choice for healthcare facilities where space is limited.
B Braun

With this overview in mind, we’ll now help you understand the unique strengths of each brand in patient fluid delivery by comparing their performance in the following aspects:

  • Portability. 
  • Large and Bright Screen + User-friendly Keyboard.
  • Dose Error Prevention Pump Designs.
  • Battery Performance with Long Run Time.
  • Affordability (Pricing).

1. Portability: Which Brand is the Easiest and Safest to Move?

Infusion pumps are not stationary medical equipment meant to be forever affixed at one position beside a patient’s bed. Instead, they should be lightweight enough to move from one point of care to another in a healthcare facility. And when the need calls for it, to a home care setting.

Autoinfu: Lightweight with Ergonomic Design

While all our focus brands are relatively lightweight and easy to handle and move within the hospital setting, none beats the Autoinfu infusion pump in portability.
Autoinfu infusion pump
Autoinfu infusion pump’s ergonomic design and 1.7kg (3.75lb) make it extremely easy to move from one point to another. The same features also make it an optimal choice for home care infusions.

Although Baxter and Braun infusion pumps are lighter than Autoinfu, the latter offers greater convenience when handling and moving the pump.

See this quick comparison of the five infusion pumps in terms of weight

Brand    

Autoinfu           

Alaris                

Plum               

Braun         

Baxter            

Weight

1.7kg (3.75lb)

3.2 kg (7.2lb) 

4.5 kg (10lb)

1.4kg(3lb)

1.1kg (2.5lb)

2. Large and Bright Screen Display and User-friendly Keypad

A large, bright screen display makes it easier for the nurse to confirm infusion details and monitor infusion progress without straining to visually check the details.

A user-friendly numerical keypad with intuitive functions gives the confidence for precise settings of the infusion details.

So, which infusion pump brands combine a large and bright screen display with a user-friendly keypad?

Autoinfu: 3.2-inch Bright LCD Screen with Numerical Keypad

To help the care provider easily follow infusion settings and progress, the Autoinfu infusion pump has a large, bright screen display with clear details.

The details displayed on the LCD screen include battery charge status, total volume, VTBI, flow rate, remaining time, and dynamic pressure value.
alaris vs plum vs baxter pump vs braun
With the user-friendly numerical and intuitive functions keypad, nurses have greater confidence in customizing infusion time and other settings with minimal chances for error.

Plum: 10.5 Monochrome LCD Tilted Screen

The Plum 360 IV pump has a 10.5 monochrome LCD screen. During infusion, the screen shows a comprehensive display of the infusion status for both the primary (A) and secondary (B) infusion lines.

The screen display will show if both lines A and B are pumping, the name of the infusion medication/fluid, dosage, infusion rate, infusion volume, and battery status, among others.

The clear display of the details and the intuitive alphanumerical keypad enhance medication delivery accuracy and reduce the chances of error.

Baxter: Large, Bright Screen

Baxter’s Sigma Spectrum infusion pump has an easy-to-read bright screen. You can choose the options that you want displayed on the screen with the ON/OFF option.

While the pump is running, you can display the audio level (H/M/L), infusion rate, dosage, current delivery, VTBI, and remaining infusion time.

With the display adjust option, the user-friendly numerical and functions keypad lets you set and adjust the options, including setting the backlight level at 1-10 brightness. Consider that a lower screen brightness saves battery power.
Note:
Although B Braun’s Infusomat can display infusion details like battery status, drug name, care area, infusion rate, remaining infusion time, and total volume, the small screen does not make reading easy.

Similarly, the Alaris 8100 IV pump displays the infusion rate on a tiny screen and has a motion display of the infusion med/fluid name. Additional infusion details are only shown on the PCU screen when the pump module is connected.

3. Dose Error Prevention Pump Designs

An infusion pump’s primary function is to ensure safety and accuracy in IV fluid and medication delivery. However, these pumps still have margins of error and the potential to cause harm to patients.

Hospitals use Dose Error Reduction Software (DERS) and Interoperability to reduce errors and ensure safer infusion delivery, especially for high-risk drugs.
Regardless, dose errors still do happen, especially with titrations.

Titrations create greater risks for dose programming errors. In fact, 90% of infusion pump programming errors for high-risk drugs are titrations.
alaris vs plum vs baxter pump vs braun
Experts think these errors can be lessened further by dose error prevention infusion pump designs such as a built-in titration error prevention feature.
So, which brands have a titration error prevention design?

Autoinfu

Most infusion pump brands have infusion pump titration programming that is not protected by standard dose limits in their EMR and drug library systems.

To counter this, the Autoinfu infusion pump design has an in-built titration error-prevention feature that blocks dose limits dangerous for patients when programming for titrations.

Baxter

Baxter Sigma Spectrum infusion system has a built-in dose or infusion rate alert feature. The feature intercepts pre-programmed and manual inaccurate dose entries, potentially harmful to the patient. This feature is especially useful in high-alert titrations.

4. Battery Performance with Long Run Time

Infusion pumps deliver lifesaving IV fluids and drugs to patients. That means they should be reliable enough to continue infusion even when power interruptions happen.

Besides, clinicians and medics often use infusion pumps in home care.
In either case, an infusion pump battery with reliable performance and a long running time is crucial.

So, which of our focus infusion pump brands has the most reliable battery performance and long run time?

Let’s present the battery capacity and runtime of each brand.

Autoinfu: Rechargeable Lithium Battery

The Autoinfu infusion pump comes with a high-performance 3000mAh rechargeable lithium battery.

Compared to Alaris, Plum, Baxter, and Braun, the Autoinfu infusion pump battery records excellent performance and longer run time.

When fully charged for 14-16 hours, the battery will run for over 10 hours at a 25ml/h flow rate. If the flow rate is increased to 1200ml/h, the battery run time is 4 hours.

Plum: In-built Lead-acid Rechargeable 6V Battery

The Plum 360 infusion pump has a built-in, lead-acid rechargeable battery.

When not in use, a Plum 360 battery will charge for 8 hours and run for 7 hours at a flow rate of 25ml/hr.

At a 999ml/hr flow rate, the battery runs for only 4 hours.

Baxter: Standard and Wireless Battery Modules

The Baxter Sigma Spectrum infusion system has two battery module options: 

  • A standard 1800mAh, 7.4V lithium-ion battery that charges for 12 hours and runs for 8 hours at a flow rate of 125ml/hr
  • A wireless 1800mAh, 7.4V lithium-ion battery that charges for 16 hours and runs for 4 hours at a flow rate of 125ml/hr.

Both cases describe battery performance when the battery is new and the infusion pump screen backlight is on.

Braun: Li-ion 1620mAh Rechargeable battery

B Braun’s Infusomat Space has a Li-ion, 1620mAh battery that charges for 6 hours and runs for 10 hours at 25ml/hr flow rate and inactive wireless feature.

If the wireless feature is active, the battery runs for only 2.5 hours.

When the flow rate is increased to 1200ml/hr, the battery operates for 5 hours with the inactive wireless feature.

Alaris: PC Battery Performance Depends on the Number of Attached Pumps

The Alaris 8100 infusion pump module depends on the PC 8000/8015 battery performance.

The PC unit has a 4000mAH, 12V Nickel metal hydride battery whose runtime depends on the number of pump modules connected to it.

With a single 8100 module, the PC battery will last 6 hours at a 25ml/hr flow rate.

With four 8100 pump modules attached to it, the PC battery lasts 3 hours at a 25ml/hr flow rate.

5. Affordability (Pricing)

Wanting an infusion pump for your clinic or hospital is easy. But, the real deal is having the budget to afford it.

Researching the market can help you decide what model fits your budget and if your money is enough for a new, preowned, or refurbished pump.

With the features of each model discussed above and the prices of each brand below, you can better decide on which infusion pump gives you value for your money.

Autoinfu:

Cost: $650 for a new infusion pump.
A run through online listings suggests that the price can go up to $1,045 or down to $440, depending on the supplier.

Alaris:

Average cost: $1500 for a refurbished infusion pump.
Most online listings are for refurbished infusion pumps. Some combo offers for Alaris 8000/8015 PC + 1/2 Alaris 8100 pump modules cost around $2,000, depending on the supplier and the number of products in the combo.

Plum

Cost: $2,800-$3,000+ for new infusion pumps, depending on the supplier.
The average cost of refurbished ICU Medical Plum 360 infusion pumps ranges between $1,500 and $2,000, depending on the supplier and pump condition.

Braun:

Cost: Between $5,000 and $10,000+ for new and some refurbished pumps.
The average price range for refurbished B Braun IV pumps is $1,200-$2,500. Pre-owned pumps can cost less.

Baxter:

Cost: Around $2,300 for refurbished infusion pumps in excellent condition.
Lower prices of refurbished Baxter infusion pumps range between $995 and $1,200, depending on supplier and pump condition

6. The Best Option for Both Hospital and Home Care Settings

The Autoinfu infusion pump has many features in common with the Alaris, Plum, Braun, and Baxter models.

Despite being a newer entrant into the infusion pump market, Autoinfu proves it is a top-notch infusion pump option with enhanced portability through its ergonomic handle and advanced patient protection with the in-built titration error prevention feature.

Its long-lasting battery and affordable cost also make it an excellent choice for anyone looking for a mix of quality and affordability.

Talk to us today about adding an Autoinfu infusion pump to your clinic or hospital equipment, or order it as an easy-to-carry option for home care.

7. Sources

Article by
Sara Alvarado
Greetings, I'm Sara, a dedicated nurse and a proud contributor to the AutoInfu blog. With my firsthand experience in the world of infusion pumps, I'm here to provide you with the latest insights, expert advice, and essential updates to ensure you stay informed about the infusion pump industry.

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