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"The big advance is the ability to close the feedback loop," said Sheppard. Other anesthetist machines have been able to monitor drug levels in the blood, he added, but this is the first to administer drugs in response to drug levels in the patient. In other words, it's like cruise control for anesthesiology and should ensure a less bumpy ride for patients under the knife. Like cruise control is better for the highway than the city, McSleepy is better for long surgeries than short ones. Some drugs used in anesthesiology are quickly metabolized by the body and have to be replaced by the anesthesiologist as often as every 30 minutes. Managing all of the different drugs required can quickly consume all of an anesthesiologist's time during long surgeries. "In surgery you don't want to concentrate on the anesthesia, you want to concentrate on the patient," said Hemmerling. McSleepy won't put anesthesiologists out of a job just yet. Letting McSleepy cruise along frees the anesthesiologist to monitor electrolyte levels, blood loss, patient temperature and a host of other things that need to be watched. An anesthesiologist is also needed on hand if complications arise during surgery, and to help put the patient under general anesthesia and then bring them out again. So far, McSleepy has been used on 10 patients. Hemmerling plans to expand its use to more than 2,000 patients over the next couple of years. Patients have been receptive, he said. "Our initial thought was that patients would be more afraid," he said. "But technology is such an important part of our everyday lives, and patients expect us to go to the next level." Related Links: |
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