[Advancements in Anesthesia and Anesthesia-related Technologies]

In thoracic surgery, general anesthesia remains the standard approach. During the procedure, one-lung ventilation using double-lumen tubes or bronchial blockers is employed as needed. For postoperative pain control, a multimodal approach is taken, incorporating options such as thoracic epidural anesthesia, paravertebral blocks, intercostal nerve blocks, and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA). These practices have remained consistent in recent years. However, anesthetics and anesthesia-related devices including physiological monitors and ultrasound machines have continued to evolve. As a result, anesthesia today differs significantly from that of a decade ago. This section highlights the latest advances in anesthetics and anesthesia-related technologies, including: (1) the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for monitoring and decision support, (2) robotic anesthesia systems with automated drug delivery, (3) remimazolam as a novel ultra-short-acting sedative, and (4) autologous blood recovery systems capable of platelet collection, improving hemostasis and reducing transfusion requirements. Although the clinical efficacy of these innovations remains to be established through future research, there is considerable anticipation surrounding their potential to enhance the quality of anesthesia management.