Patent ID: 7273053

Claim:
A combination of a laryngeal mask airway device and an apparatus for automatically monitoring the anaesthetized status of a patient in the course of a surgical procedure on the patient when the laryngeal mask airway device is installed in the patient, the laryngeal mask airway device comprising an airway tube having a distal end and an inflatable mask disposed at the distal end for sealing engagement around the laryngeal inlet, with communication to the patient's lungs via the tube and through the mask, said mask having a flexible tubular inflation line accessible externally of the patient; said apparatus comprising: (a) a pressure transducer detachably connected to said inflation line for producing an electrical-signal output pursuant to instantaneous pressure in the inflatable mask indicative of a tone of muscles in the patient's larynx or pharynx as a function of time during the surgical procedure; (b) pressure evaluating means including means for computing a value according to a function of changes in the pressure over time; and (c) said pressure-evaluating means producing an alarm-signal output if the value departs from a predetermined range.