Patent ID: 8206341

Claim:
A device for controlling the depth of sedation of a mechanically respirated patient, the device comprising: a respirator; a sensor array detecting a tidal volume and/or a respiration rate of the patient being respirated with said respirator; a computing unit calculating measured values detected with the sensor array; a drug regulating unit; a drug dispensing unit for dispensing a drug to the patient being respirated; and a central control device with stored desired values for a drug concentration to be dispensed as a function of a preselected depth of sedation corresponding to a corresponding variability over time of the tidal volume and/or the respiration rate, wherein the drug regulating unit sets the drug dispensing unit as a function of the detected tidal volume and/or the respiration rate for a preselected depth of sedation of the patient, wherein the measured values determined in the computing unit are calculated into parameters for the variability over time of the respiration rate and/or the tidal volume.