Machine Learning-Guided Anesthesiology: A Review of Recent Advances and Clinical Applications

Abstract

: Anesthesia is the process of inducing and experiencing various conditions, such as painlessness, immobility, and amnesia, to facilitate surgeries and other medical procedures. During the administration of anesthesia, anesthesiologists face critical decision-making moments, considering the significance of the procedure and potential complications resulting from anesthesia-related choices. In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a supportive tool for anesthesia decisions, given its potential to assist with control and management tasks. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive review of articles on the intersection of AI and anesthesia. A review was conducted by searching PubMed for peer-reviewed articles published between 2020 and early 2022, using keywords related to anesthesia and AI. The articles were categorized into nine distinct groups: “Depth of anesthesia", “Control of anesthesia delivery", “Control of mechanical ventilation and weaning", “Event prediction", “Ultrasound guidance", “Pain management", “Operating room logistic", “Monitoring", and “Neuro-critical care". Four reviewers meticulously examined the selected articles to extract relevant information. The studies within each category were reviewed by considering items such as the purpose and type of anesthesia, AI algorithms, dataset, data accessibility, and evaluation criteria. To enhance clarity, each category was analyzed with a higher resolution than previous review articles, providing readers with key points, limitations, and potential areas for future research to facilitate a better understanding of each concept. The advancements in AI techniques hold promise in significantly enhancing anesthesia practices and improving the overall experience for anesthesiologists.