ProtoLink developed an application that allows authorized clinicians to create barcode labels that can be read by a smart infusion pump.
An infusion pump manufacturer asked ProtoLink to develop an application which would allow authorized clinicians to create barcode labels that could be read by the pump’s proprietary barcode reader. The application needed to allow a user to begin the process of specifying the infusion parameters required for the labels in each of the following ways:
- Manually entering all parameters for a new label
- Using a previously printed label as the basis for a new label
- Using infusion data obtained from an external system (such as a pharmacy system) as the basis for a new label
In response to these requirements, ProtoLink developed a solution with the following components:
- A Windows Forms application written in C# to provide the user interface
- A Windows service written in C# which uses TCP/IP communication to accept infusion order information in XML format from external systems
- A Microsoft SQL Server relational database to manage the set of authorized users, previously printed labels, and the infusion order information received by the Windows service
The application generates labels using either common Windows-compatible printers or printers that support Zebra ZPL II commands.