Tom Doesburg and Paul Moes - Mobile monitoring in anesthesia using smartphones

In this study we explore the possibilities of using a mobile phone to monitor patients in anesthesia. An anesthetist carefully monitors the patients vital signs for irregularities, ensuring the patients wellbeing. Most complications in anesthesiology are caused by human error and evolve gradually over time. A mobile monitor can reduce human error by keeping the anesthetist informed outside the operating room, facilitating early detection and reducing cognitive biases during consults. Based on several pilot studies a prototype was developed and tested during a diagnostic reasoning experiment. In another experiment we’ve pursued the possibilities of using a hexagonal display for the detection of complications. The experiments show which diagnostic reasoning process is supported by the mobile monitor and resulted in several improvements in the design of the mobile monitor.