Raising consciousness

A new device is being used at McPherson Hospital in Howell that allows anesthesiologists to measure the consciousness of patients during surgery and distribute anesthesia accordingly. The Bispectral Index (BIS) monitor is the first and only commercially available direct measure of the effects of anesthetics on the brain, and McPherson is currently one of only a handful of hospitals in Michigan and about 300 across the country to use this technology.