J U LY 2 0 1 5 O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T 4 5
Being sedated by a computer? It seems like something out of a sci-fi movie, but Ethicon's Sedasys System — the
first computer-assisted personalized propofol sedation machine — is making it a reality.
Sedasys is used for the IV administration of 1% propofol for select procedures, including colonoscopies and
upper endoscopy screenings. The machine places patients under minimal-to-moderate sedation while monitor-
ing vitals — all without an anesthesia provider in the room.
Instead, a clinician — either nurse or doctor — can operate the machine. Sedasys monitors the patient's
oxygen, heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure and responsiveness, and features several alarms and
safety locks designed to prevent complications.
Users say that using propofol for these procedures — instead of the traditional combination of midazolam
and fentanyl — shortens patient recovery time and increases efficiency.
"Before we started using Sedasys, my patients would spend upwards of an hour in the recovery area follow-
ing a procedure that only took 20 to 30 minutes to complete," says Michael Basista, MD,
MBA, a gastroenterologist with ProMedica Toledo Hospital, 1 of the 5 hospitals in the
country using the system.
But there are limitations. The FDA originally rejected the system in 2010 due to safety con-
cerns, only granting approval in 2013 after Ethicon agreed to require that facilities have an on-
call anesthesia provider on hand and to limit the procedures for which it's used.
Anesthesia providers have also expressed concerns. "Removing the human factor from
anesthesia is not logical," says William Landess, CRNA, MS, JD, corporate director of anes-
thesia services at Palmetto Health in Columbia, S.C. Jay Horowitz, CRNA, owner of Quality
Anesthesia Care Corp. in Sarasota, Fla., notes that while Sedasys could be "a very appropri-
ate and helpful tool," he prefers "an actual professional at the helm who has interviewed and
assessed [the patient]."
Kendal Gapinski
SEDASYS SYSTEM
Computerized Propofol
Sedation Arrives in Some ORs
z INTO THE FUTURE The new Sedasys
system delivers sedation to patients
without need of an anesthesia provider.
ProMedica
Toledo
Hospital
