An improved pump, reservoir and reservoir piston are provided for
controlled delivery of fluids. A motor is operably coupled to a drive
member, such as a drive screw, which is adapted to advance a plunger
slide in response to operation of the motor. The plunger slide is
removably coupled to the piston. A method, system, and an article of
manufacture for automatically detecting a force sensor failure in a
medication infusion pump is provided. The electrical current to an
infusion pump is measured. Based on the current measurements, the
infusion pump detects when the plunger slide is seated in the reservoir,
and detects a problem with the force sensor when the force sensor
independently fails to register a value indicating that the plunger slide
is seated in the reservoir.