RUH helping with anaesthesia research – BATH NEWSEUM

Most patients in intensive care units (ICU) who need a machine to help with their breathing are given propofol to sedate them. Doctors and patients say the way this drug is managed can be improved and being able to measure propofol will help them to give the right amount to each patient.  Up to now this accurate real time measurement has not been possible.

Bath-based Somnus Scientific is making a device that will measure in real time the amount of propofol in the patient’s blood.  This will mean that patients will be given the right amount; enough to keep them comfortable and pain free but not too much to delay their recovery and increase side effects.    

The Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust (RUH) is helping to develop this idea.  Patients at the RUH who are receiving propofol during an anaesthetic for surgery are being asked if they would help with this research. If they agree, blood taken from them whilst they are unconscious will allow the team at Somnus to check that the new device gives results that are as good as the results provided by a measurement carried out over several hours in a laboratory, the gold standard reference method currently used. 

Following on from the ICU monitor, Somnus will also develop a rapid propofol test that can also be used in operating theatres. Traditional gaseous anaesthesia is a damaging greenhouse gas, causing harm to the environment and increased side effects for patients.  If anaesthetists can measure propofol in real time, it makes it even easier for them to use it in theatre. This benefits patients, the environment and the NHS, as there is reduced wastage.

Dr Tim Craft is the CEO of Somnus.  He said “Initial research was very positive, showing that our real time blood propofol monitor was as accurate as the gold standard method used currently, which takes a lot longer.  By extending the study we can be reassured that the monitor is fit for purpose.  By using more propofol in both ICU and operating theatres, we can deliver significant benefits to patients, who will have fewer side effects and a quicker recovery and at the same time significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the NHS.”

Dr Kelly Spencer, Head of Research Operations at the RUH, said: “It’s great for our research teams at the RUH to be working with Somnus to support development of this technology, which has the potential to really benefit both patients and NHS services.”

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Somnus’ technology will allow anaesthetists to see from moment to moment how much propofol is in a patient’s blood stream. This allows for more accurate dosing; keeping the patient comfortable and reducing the time they send in ICU.

In addition, traditional inhalational anaesthesia uses potent greenhouse gases that damage the environment; in fact, they account for fully 5% of the entire carbon footprint of acute hospitals. Using propofol is better for patients, better for the NHS and better for the environment.

Somnus’ technology will allow anaesthetists to see from moment to moment how much propofol is in a patient’s blood stream. This allows for more accurate dosing; keeping the patient comfortable and reducing the time they send in ICU.

In addition, traditional inhalational anaesthesia uses potent greenhouse gases that damage the environment; in fact, they account for fully 5% of the entire carbon footprint of acute hospitals. Using propofol is better for patients, better for the NHS and better for the environment.