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Indian scientists develop electronic anaesthesia monitor
Friday, 22 November 2002, 20:30 IST
LUCKNOW: For surgeons constantly anxious over the precise administration of anaesthesia comes good news from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
A team working at IIT Kanpur's electrical engineering department has devised an electronic anaesthesia monitor that promises to be a boon for both doctors and patients.
"This new gadget could enable one to keep track of the exact levels of consciousness, muscle relaxation and the overall anaesthetic effect on the recipient," said G.C. Ray, a senior biomedical scientist in the electrical engineering department.
Ray devised the monitor along with Poornima Sengupta from IIT Kharagpur and Gautam Das, a Kolkata-based anaesthetist.
"The instrument is ready for practical use, but we would not like to venture into its marketing until it has been tried on patients over a sustained period," Ray told IANS on the telephone.
Asked how much time it would take for the monitor to hit the market, he said: "Perhaps a year because we would want 100 percent accuracy."
Ray claimed it would be well within reach of most patients as it was likely to cost about 
25,000.
"The computer-linked monitoring instrument would be connected to the patient's body during a course of surgery and would instantly display the exact level of consciousness, relaxation and even pain experienced by the patient with the administration of the anaesthetic dose," he said.
Ray, who has been working on the genesis of consciousness for several years, said ancient scriptures like the Upanishads inspired him.
"What really inspired me were the writings of Sri Ram Krishna Paramhans (a saint) who threw new light on the state of body and mind during 'samadhi' (meditation), as detailed in the Hindu scriptures," the scientist said.
But what prompted him to delve deeper and develop a gadget of this kind was his personal experience as a patient in a Kolkata hospital.
"About 15 months ago, while I was admitted in a Kolkata hospital to undergo surgery, it was the attending anaesthetist Gautam Das who have me the idea to attempt developing a gadget that could precisely quantify and tell you the exact effect of a particular dose of anaesthesia," Ray said.
"Das pointed out that the effect of anaesthesia varied with the same dose on different patients, essentially because of their varying mental attitudes. For instance, I was told that a patient who was by nature a coward required a much smaller dose of anaesthesia than a brave person," said Ray.
"Now the electronic anaesthesia monitor would make it possible to ensure only the required amount of anaesthetic dose is administered to a particular patient."
Source: IANS
25,000.
"The computer-linked monitoring instrument would be connected to the patient's body during a course of surgery and would instantly display the exact level of consciousness, relaxation and even pain experienced by the patient with the administration of the anaesthetic dose," he said.
Ray, who has been working on the genesis of consciousness for several years, said ancient scriptures like the Upanishads inspired him.
"What really inspired me were the writings of Sri Ram Krishna Paramhans (a saint) who threw new light on the state of body and mind during 'samadhi' (meditation), as detailed in the Hindu scriptures," the scientist said.
But what prompted him to delve deeper and develop a gadget of this kind was his personal experience as a patient in a Kolkata hospital.
"About 15 months ago, while I was admitted in a Kolkata hospital to undergo surgery, it was the attending anaesthetist Gautam Das who have me the idea to attempt developing a gadget that could precisely quantify and tell you the exact effect of a particular dose of anaesthesia," Ray said.
"Das pointed out that the effect of anaesthesia varied with the same dose on different patients, essentially because of their varying mental attitudes. For instance, I was told that a patient who was by nature a coward required a much smaller dose of anaesthesia than a brave person," said Ray.
"Now the electronic anaesthesia monitor would make it possible to ensure only the required amount of anaesthetic dose is administered to a particular patient."
Source: IANS