Signal Analysis and Response Measurement

Monitoring during anaesthesia is based on the measurement of physiological signals that are recorded during surgical or other procedures requiring anaesthetic drug administration. The methods used to process these signals, calculate derived parameters and develop the different indicators of the physiological status of the patient or depth of anaesthesia are difficult to understand for anaesthesia providers without an engineering background. The present chapter aims to fill this gap by introducing the reader to the main concepts related to signal analysis commonly used to measure the response of human physiological systems under anaesthesia.