A state-observer for patient status in cardiac surgery

Today, control of extracorporeal perfusion - the standard technique in cardiac surgery - is achieved by perfusionists making short-term decisions based on their clinical experience and on data collected pre- and intraoperatively. But in spite of extensive monitoring postoperative complications occur which most probably are due to unrecognized complications during surgery. By extending monitoring towards the perfusion status of important inner organs and the patient's metabolic status, the assessment of the actual patient situation could be improved. Thus, the adaptation of extracorporeal circulation to the patient's needs would become possible. As these parameters normally cannot be measured, we propose a system similar to a state-observer capable of calculating them.