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. 2024 Feb 1;138(2):239-251.
doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000006835. Epub 2024 Jan 12.

Robotic Anesthesia: A Vision for 2050

Thomas M Hemmerling  1   2 , Sean D Jeffries  1
Affiliations

Robotic Anesthesia: A Vision for 2050

Thomas M Hemmerling et al. Anesth Analg. .

Abstract

The last 2 decades have brought important developments in anesthetic technology, including robotic anesthesia. Anesthesiologists titrate the administration of pharmacological agents to the patients' physiology and the needs of surgery, using a variety of sophisticated equipment (we use the term "pilots of the human biosphere"). In anesthesia, increased safety seems coupled with increased technology and innovation. This article gives an overview of the technological developments over the past decades, both in terms of pharmacological and mechanical robots, which have laid the groundwork for robotic anesthesia: target-controlled drug infusion systems, closed-loop administration of anesthesia and sedation, mechanical robots for intubation, and the latest development in the world of communication with the arrival of artificial intelligence (AI)-derived chatbots are presented.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: See Disclosures at the end of the article.

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