Hipocrates: a robust system for the control of neuromuscular blockade.
OBJECTIVE
Development of an automatic system (software package Hipocrates) for the control of neuromuscular blockade by continuous infusion of the non-depolarising types of muscle relaxant drugs presently used in anaesthesia, namely atracurium, cisatracurium, vecuronium and rocuronium.


METHODS
Hipocrates incorporates control strategies based upon classical, adaptive and robust control, as well as a wide range of noise reduction techniques and on-line adaptation to patient-specific characteristics. Therefore, the system provides strong robustness to inter- and intra-individual variability of the patients responses or unexpected circumstances and adaptation to the individual requirements.


RESULTS
The control system is easy to set up and to use in a clinical environment. It consists of a portable PC computer, a Datex AS/3 NMT sensor and a B/Braun compact perfusion pump. In the simulation mode the software package incorporates sophisticated generation of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic models driven by simulated drug administration regimes (bolus, continuous infusion and a combination of both).


CONCLUSIONS
Hipocrates is an advanced standalone application for the control of neuromuscular blockade with a friendly graphic interface. It has been extensively validated, and it can be used on patients undergoing surgery as well as for simulation studies. Therefore Hipocrates also provides an excellent environment for education and training purposes.
Mendonça
Teresa
T
Departamento de Matemática Aplicada, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal. tmendo@fc.up.pt
Magalhães
Hugo
H
Lago
Pedro
P
Esteves
Simão
S
D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000379:methods; D001331:Automation; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D019148:Neuromuscular Blockade / Q000379:methods*; D003473:Neuromuscular Nondepolarizing Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software
D003473:Neuromuscular Nondepolarizing Agents