Aviation safety to benefit heart patients

PARIS – Aviation safety systems can be used to help prevent complications after surgery. UK researchers said they are developing a real-time patient monitoring and risk prediction system similar to those used by pilots to monitor the safety of their aircraft.

A team of researchers from the Academic Surgery Unit at University Hospital of South Manchester is collaborating with Lancaster University to develop a real-time patient monitoring and risk prediction system for use in operating theaters and intensive care units.

Among other benefits, researchers outlined the real-time analysis and prediction of multiple physiological parameters and the ability to change parameters ranges and alert thresholds for individual patients. The system also gives the ability to incorporate multiple clinical predictions.

“There are a lot of parallels between flying an aircraft and observing a critically ill patient. Both the surgeon and the pilot are dealing with a lot of information coming from a variety of sensors. They both need to know not only what is happening now but what might happen in the future and safety is absolutely critical," commented Lancaster University Aviation Security expert Professor Garik Makarian.