2006 Finalist

A system allowing target controlled delivery of volatile anaesthetics

An improved system for administering anaesthetics is saving money and may mean more rapid recovery for patients at Christchurch Hospital.

About 400,000 people have an anaesthetic each year in New Zealand. Small improvements for each of them may have a big effect on health care overall.

The system was developed at Christchurch Hospital’s Department of Anaesthesia and allows anaesthetists to more directly match delivery of inhaled anaesthetics with the needs of a patient.

By better matching drug doses to needs, the system can help reduce side effects, modify the effects of surgical stress and see patients recover from anaesthetic faster, potentially leading to reduced complication rates and earlier discharge.

As a patient goes to sleep and wakes and throughout an operation, the amount of anaesthetic they need varies. Too little anaesthetic risks awareness or undue stress for the body; too much anaesthetic can delay recovery and may have adverse long-term effects.

The new system helps anaesthetists reduce the delay between changes in the doses of anaesthetics being administered and the changes taking effect.

The system uses settings on the anaesthetic delivery system, data from patient monitors and mathematical models. Brain levels are calculated and future anaesthetic levels in the blood and the brain are estimated and displayed.

By altering the system’s settings of the anaesthetist can rapidly determine the optimum settings to meet a patient’s needs at different times.

The changes have produced savings of $240,000 in one year without reducing patient care.

Contact: Dr Ross Kennedy 03 3640 288
email: ross.kennedy@chmeds.ac.nz