Infusion devices are critical for delivering medication to patients. Medications are an important part of the treatment of patients in hospitals. The hundreds of different medications used in the hospital can be categorized by the route of administration. For example, most medications are administered orally (pills, capsules or liquids), by intramuscular injection ("shot"), or intravenously (IV).

Oral and intramuscular medications are administered by nurses or other healthcare professionals, typically at specific times according to the doctor's order. Intravenous medications are often administered as infusions by trained healthcare professionals using a plastic IV tubing set and catheter that is placed into the patient's vein. Since the administration of the IV medication occurs over an extended period of time (30 minutes to 24 hours or more), electronic infusion pumps are often used to precisely and continuously administer the medication.