Alarms and anesthesia: challenges in design of intelligent systems for patient monitoring

The limitations of current anesthesia monitor alarm technology are first discussed. The challenges of applying technology to improve patient monitoring are then considered, with attention given to integrating stand-alone devices and functions that are part of the anesthesia workstation and to the standardization of anesthetic practices. Design strategies for intelligent alarms are addressed. The process of generating alarms is considered as compromising three distinct tasks: sensing, signal processing, and annunciation.<>