A clinician´s view of engineering and technology in intensive care — Modelbased therapeutics and patient outcomes

This paper presents a summary of previous and current research at the Christchurch Hospital Intensive Care Unit from the point of view of an intensive care specialist who has worked in the field for the past 18 years. All the major areas of sedation-agitation, cardiovascular and mechanical ventilation management, glucose control and sepsis diagnosis are covered as case studies, including model developments and clinical outcomes. The overall approach is described as “Model-based Therapeutics” and has the philosophy of a “one method fits all” rather than the more typical “one size fits all” approach. The research presented shows the way forward to next generation health care, where current medical equipment, sensors and drugs are used in a smarter way to develop patient-specific diagnosis and therapy.