A critical need for biosignal interpretation

Biosignal interpretation (BSI) methods can be used to integrate information from different physiological signals and patient-state variables both to enable decision making regarding patient status and therapeutic actions and to improve the monitoring of patients and their organ systems. Although BSI research has yielded promising results over the last decade, the number of BSI algorithms implemented in commercially available systems and used routinely in clinical practice remains limited. This is probably due to limits in our understanding of the related clinical problems and our knowledge about the strengths and weaknesses of various BSI methods and tools. We have to continually repeat the cycle of analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation to develop an understanding of the right BSI algorithm for the right clinical problem that can be embedded in a commercial monitoring system. Advancing from the present, more descriptive stage to such formal knowledge and understanding requires time and learning.