Development of a remote control system for a syringe pump using a dynamixel motor

The syringe pump system, which handles radioactive isotopes, operates within a hot cell to minimize radiation exposure to operators. Due to the limited space within the hot cell, the syringe pump system must be compact, use minimal components to mitigate material radiation issues, and be easily maintainable. In this study, to tackle these challenges, a syringe pump was designed using Dynamixel motors, and a remote control program was developed to operate the pump from outside the hot cell. User can input syringe size, target volume, flow rate, and direction information via the program's GUI. Based on this input data, position and velocity conversion algorithms were developed to control the Dynamixel motor accordingly. The utilization of the syringe pump developed in this study would facilitate downsizing and simplifying the maintenance of the radioactive isotope separation and purification system.