Physiological Signal Processing for Individualized Anti-nociception Management During General Anesthesia: a Review

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• General anesthesia requires balancing analgesics, hypnotics, and muscle relaxants for patient non-responsiveness.
• Significant advancements have been made in monitoring anesthetic drug effects on surgical nociception.
• Currently, no definitive gold standard exists for evaluating the nociception/anti-nociception balance under anesthesia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review existing technologies for assessing the nociception/anti-nociception balance during surgery.
• To provide an overview of current technological solutions available for this purpose.

Main Methods:

• A literature search was conducted using the PubMed database.
• Articles focused on nociception monitoring during general anesthesia were reviewed.
• Studies involving conscious patients or post-anesthesia care units were excluded.

Main Results:

• Several technologies for nociception/anti-nociception balance evaluation were identified.
• All reviewed systems rely on analyzing autonomic nervous system activity.
• These systems utilize sensors and signal processing algorithms to assess patient responses to anesthesia and surgery.

Conclusions:

• Technological solutions for monitoring nociception/anti-nociception balance are available.
• These devices can facilitate individualized anti-nociception management during general anesthesia.
• The selection of a specific monitoring technology depends on the clinical context and overall monitoring goals.