Working under the sponsorship of the Veterans' Administration, the National Bureau of Standards has developed an electronic instrument which automatically detects changes in the physiological condition of a patient under anesthesia throughout the course of an operation. Known as the NBS Physiological Monitor, this instrument measures changes in the patient's blood pressure, heart beat, and respiration as they occur and presents the data on a panel for interpretation by the surgeon or anesthesiologist. A permanent record of the patient's condition during the operation is also provided by a recording device incorporated in the assembly.
Because the Physiological Monitor provides a continuous indication of the patient's physiological condition during surgery, it should prove of great value in the prevention and control of emergencies which may unexpectedly confront the surgeon at the operating table or during certain critical postoperative periods. The instrument is also expected to be a distinct aid in those phases of medical research--such as studies of the effect of drugs on blood pressure--that require a knowledge of the behavior of physiological variables over long periods.
Development of the Physiological Monitor was carried out by S. R. Gilford and H. P. Broida of the NBS staff.