PONI: a prototype respiratory and circulatory monitoring system for operating rooms

The hospital operating room network (HORNET) is a set of computer hardware and software now functioning to monitor patients in operating rooms and perform related administrative functions. In addition to monitoring, it has been used to obtain, analyze, and collate physiological, demographic, and administrative perioperative information. A description is given of the monitoring component, PONI (a pulse oximeter noninvasive blood-pressure monitor), organized as a system to alleviate proliferation of monitoring devices and false alarms coming from them. PONI has thus far been applied to relatively healthy patients undergoing day surgery and may require modification for major procedures in the main operating rooms which have been included in the network. The authors have accumulated and analyzed statistically a database of hemodynamic behavior in such patients, e.g. pulse rate and blood oxygenation, where difficulties first become manifest. From this they have been able to derive prototype knowledge rules regarding the reliability and cross-interactions of the monitoring devices included in PONI.<>