Closing the loop: automation in anesthesiology is coming
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Updated: Jul 16, 2025

Use of a Low-flow Digital Anesthesia System for Mice and Rats
Published on: September 7, 2016
Sean Coeckelenbergh1,2, Alexandre Joosten3,4, Maxime Cannesson4
1Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Saclay, Hôpital Paul-Brousse, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, 12 avenue Paul Vaillant-Couturier, Villejuif, 94800, France. sean.coeckelenbergh@gmail.com.
Abstract:
Anesthesiology and intensive care medicine provide fertile ground for innovation in automation, but to date we have only achieved preliminary studies in closed-loop intravenous drug administration. Anesthesiologists have yet to implement these tools on a large scale despite clear evidence that they outperform manual titration. Closed-loops continuously assess a predefined variable as input into a controller and then attempt to establish equilibrium by administering a treatment as output. The aim is to decrease the error between the closed-loop controller's input and output. In this editorial we consider the available intravenous anesthesia closed-loop systems, try to clarify why they have not yet been implemented on a large scale, see what they offer, and propose the future steps towards automation in anesthesia.
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