Enhanced System for Monitoring Brain During Sedation

Enhancements to a system that assesses the level of consciousness in sedated patients have expanded the system's performance capabilities, allowing a more precise measurement of brain activity. The new XP technology was announced at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) in New Orleans (LA, USA) by Aspect Medical Systems (Newton, MA, USA), the developer.

The technology allows doctors to monitor a broader range of patients, including pediatric and cardiac patients in the operating room and patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Called the Bispectral Index (BIS), the system is designed to detect and filter interference from muscle artifacts caused by eye movement in patients who are lightly sedated. Because BIS XP technology is resistant to electrocautery devices, the system is able to provide better detection of near suppression, a brain wave pattern that may be seen during deep anesthesia and in cardiac patients. Being more robust, the system can display a reliable BIS measurement throughout a case, with "blankouts” during high artifact conditions.

The BIS XP technology is also available through BIS modules. Companies that have integrated BIS modules into their patient-monitoring systems include GE Medical Systems, Datex-Ohmeda, and Philips Medical Systems. "The studies presented at ASA are a reflection of the increasing global adoption of BIS monitoring as a critical patient assessment tool in clinical practice and anesthesia research,” said Paul Manberg, vice president of clinical, regulatory, and quality assurance at Aspect Medical Systems. "Brain monitoring with BIS allows researchers to conduct more rigorous investigations and enables clinicians to achieve more consistent outcomes for their patients.”




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