Aspect Medical Systems' Bispectral Index™ (BIS) technology delivers an accurate, real-time, objective
measure of a patient's level of consciousness, allowing anesthesia providers to improve patient care through
more precise administration of anesthetic agents and sedatives.
Until the advent of the BIS monitor, clinicians had no direct means of assessing a patient's level of
consciousness, relying instead on interpretation of vital signs, knowledge of the properties of anesthetic
agents, and professional experience. Although this approach sometimes resulted in patients receiving too
much or too little anesthetic, in the absence of a tool that directly monitored a patient's response to an
anesthetic, clinicians had no other option.
With BIS technology, anesthesia providers now have new information to individualize care by directly
measuring each patient's response to anesthesia. It has been shown to be effective across patient
populations, from pediatrics to geriatrics, and we believe it has the potential to make a significant difference
in clinical practice wherever it is used.
BIS monitoring:
Minimizes the risk of under- and over-dosing of anesthetics.
Significantly improves recovery following anesthesia: Patients wake up more alert and oriented and
experience fewer side effects (such as nausea and vomiting).
Allows an ongoing assessment of the risk of intraoperative awareness (the unintentional regaining of
consciousness during surgery).
Results in more efficient utilization of anesthesia drugs and post-operative facilities and staff.
Development of BIS technology required more than a decade of research and development in collaboration
with anesthesiologists at leading institutions around the world. The fruits of that investment are evident today.
With over 1,000 established hospital accounts in North America, the installed number of BIS monitoring
systems exceeded 8,200 in North America and 2,100 abroad at the end of 2000.
Additionally, more than 21 percent of all U.S. operating rooms are now equipped with BIS technology.
Aspect's domestic customers include:
48 percent of the largest 100 hospitals,
36 percent of the largest 1,000 hospitals, and
46 percent of all teaching hospitals with anesthesia residency programs
In short, BIS technology is increasingly embraced by the medical community.
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