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from the machines-replacing-the-very-skilled-laborer dept.
Say hello to the hunk of plastic that could replace your anesthesiologist. Right now, only four U.S. hospitals are using the Sedasys anesthesiology machine to sedate patients before surgery. Johnson & Johnson has been cautiously rolling out the machine after winning approval from the Food and Drug Administration in 2013. The FDA originally rejected the machine in 2010, but later approved after Johnson & Johnson agreed it would only be used for simple screenings--like colonoscopies or endoscopies--and only when an anesthesiology doctor or nurse was on-call.
The machine administers a measured dose of propofol to the patient, and the drug acts quickly. To keep patients safe, the machine is programmed with conservative parameters. Even the slightest problem--for example, if the patient has low blood oxygen or a slow heart rate--slows or stops the drug's infusion. According to the Washington Post, the machine has stricter limits than a human anesthesiologist would have.
http://www.popsci.com/meet-machine-could-replace-anesthesiologists
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday May 14 2015, @12:26AM
I had a profoundly adverse reaction to the aneasthetic used for my knee arthroscopy in 1983, but several hours later, after I was home.
My parents got the bright idea to go out to a party, they didn't leave a telephone near my bed. When I went into convulsions, I thought The End had come.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 14 2015, @01:43AM
Hey, now you can have a good laugh about it, eh? It was all good. :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 14 2015, @02:19AM
Not exactly an allergic reaction, but weird and scary effects on memory.
When my SO had a colonoscopy she opted for general anesthetic, I'm pretty sure she was given propofol. I was there when she regained consciousness and she spoke and appeared normal...until she repeated herself a few minutes later, and again, and again (at least five times, maybe more). Each time I told her, "You already said that." To which she responded that she just woke up and had no memory of speaking to me earlier.
Scared the heck out of me for 20 minutes or so. I was imagining our future if she had no short term memory and her brain was on auto-repeat (early onset Alzheimer's or something). We were both in our 50s at that time.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday May 14 2015, @04:35AM
The very worst case of amnesia in history was some guy who had a brain infection. He lived to a ripe old age, maybe is still alive, in an institution. His wife came to visit most days, but he never recognized her. If he turned his back he'd forget that he ever met her.
By contrast, he was still able to play improvisational piano.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]