A closed-loop system between intra-ear canal monitoring and general anesthesia

Date
2021-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa has a shortage of workers in the healthcare sector, and this short-age extends into anesthesiology as well. With this need, it would be helpfulto introduce a system that administers anesthesia automatically to lighten theload on anesthesiologists as well as to help distribute available anesthesiologistsmore evenly across the South African population. Therefore, a closed-loopcontrol system maintaining a patient’s depth of anesthesia was designed.The system designed consists of an intra-ear electrode and monitor, readingmid-latency auditory evoked potentials (MLAEP) from a patient, a controlsystem and an infusion pump to infuse anesthetic to a patient. The focus ofthis study will be the design of the closed-loop control system interfacing theintra-ear monitoring system and the infusion of anesthetic.The closed-loop control system will have a reference MLAEP latency orplasma concentration that it will need to follow, and the intra-ear monitor willsend the latencies read from the patient. These will be the inputs to the controlsystem’s model predictive controller (MPC), which incorporates a model of thepatient within the controller so that the infusion regime it determines is basedon patient-specific parameters. Once the amount of infusion is determined,the system will send infusion instructions to the infusion pump to administerthe correct amount of anesthetic to the patient.The designed control system was simulated, and its performance was com-pared to a simulated closed-loop control system based on a PID controller.This controller shows overall better control because of the shorter settlingtime, smaller overshoot, and smaller errors between the reference value and the measured output that the MPC control loop achieves. The effect of mea-surement noise on MPC control system was also investigated and the resultsshowed that the system was able to operate adequately with signal-to-noiseratio (SNR) down to 15 dB.From the simulations conducted, it was shown that the closed-loop controlsystem could keep a simulated patient adequately sedated using the MLAEPas an adequate control signal to keep the patient sedated.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die tekort aan gesondheidswerkers in Suid-Afrika sluit ook narkotiseurs in. ’nStelsel wat narkose outomaties kan toedien sal die werklas van narkotiseursverminder asook help om die dienste wat narkotiseurs aanbied, meer eweredigoor die Suid-Afrikaanse populasie te versprei. Met hierdie as agtergrond enmotivering is die ontwerp van die geslote-lus-beheerstelsel vir die instandhou-ding van die narkosediepte by pasiënte uitgevoer.Die stelselontwerp bestaan uit ’n intra-oorkanaal elektrode wat die MLAEP(Middle Latency Auditory Evoked Potentials) van die pasiënt monitor, ’n kon-trolesisteem asook ’n narkose infusiepomp wat aan die pasiënt se veneuse sis-teem gekoppel is. Die fokus van hierdie navorsing was gemik op die ontwerpvan ’n geslotelus sisteem tussen die intra-oorkanaal moniteringsisteem en dieinfusiepomp narkose.Die beheerstelsel monitor die MLAEP sein in pasiënte, en bepaal dan diepasiënte se plasma narkosekonsentrasie waardeur effektiewe sedasie gedurendedie instandhoudingsfase van die narkose bewerkstellig kan word. Die beheer-der maak gebruik van die sogenaamde MPC (Model Predictive Control) wat’n model van die pasiënt insluit en dus die infusie algoritme, gebaseer op diepasiënt se spesifieke liggaamsparameters, insluit. Sodra die infusietempo be-paal is, word die instruksie na die infusiepomp gestuur waardeur die korrektenarkose aan die pasiënt toegedien word.Die stelsel ontwerp is met ’n geslote--lus-sisteem, wat ’n PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) beheerder insluit, vergelyk en gevolglik ’n beter beheera.g.v. die kleiner oorskiet en kort stabilisasie-tyd wat deur die MPC beheer lus bereik kan word tot gevolg het. Die stelsel-ontwerp het ook die effek vanmetingsgeruis op die stelsel evalueer en kan bevestig dat die stelsel gemaklikbinne die 15 dB geruisvlak kon funksioneer. ’n Bykomstige ontwerp om dienarkotiseur in staat te stel om die diepte van narkose te beheer, is suksesvoldeur die stelsel gedemonstreer.Die simulasieresulate kon aantoon dat die geslotelus beheersisteem die pa-siënt effektief gesedeerd hou. Verder het die simulasie getoon dat die MLAEP’n voldoende beheersein verteenwoordig en dus die gesimuleerde pasiënt oor ’nwye spektrum suksesvol kon sedeer.
Description
Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2021.
Keywords
A closed-loop System, UCTD, Inner Ear canal -- Monitoring, Electric anesthesia, Drugs -- Administration
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