Computer-Assisted Anesthesia for Children

New software enables an anesthesia system to exert expanded, automatic control of all anesthetic gases that are particularly well-suited for use in pediatric ventilation.

The Zeus rebreathing system, from Draeger Medical AG & Co. (Lubeck, Germany), has one of the world's smallest system volumes, which makes it particularly adaptable for ventilating children and newborns. This automatic computer-assisted anesthesia control, called target controlled anesthesia, or TCA, has previously been available only for adult anesthesia. Draeger Medical together with Dr. Joseph Holski and his staff at Children's Hospital (Cologne, Germany) developed the pediatric application.

The automatic control delivers the exact quantity of anesthetic gas specific to the patient and not only makes fast introduction and recovery of the anesthetic possible but also provides a stable depth of anesthesia. This not only reduces the cost of anesthesia but also prevents children from dehydrating through the delivery of large quantities of dry gas. The total rebreathing, in the closed system, keeps the moisture physiologically required in the breathing air and reduces the risk of postoperative complications.

The general advantages of the TCA over previously entered target parameters are documented in a new study published in the British Journal of Anesthesia (2005;94:306-317). Of most importance, the TCA control loop engages with the ventilation modes from Zeus and thus reduces user-initiated "control interventions.” This results in more time to devote to perioperative patient care.

Dr. Joseph Holski, chief physician in the department of anesthesia and intensive care medicine at the Children's Hospital and director of the clinical test phase of the new software solution, sees a "quantum leap in medical technology that for the first time makes it possible to even anesthetize children weighing less than 3 kg like never before.”




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