Current and future directions in the technology relating to bedside testing of critically ill patients.

Significant progress has been made recently in the measurement methods and instrumental approaches applicable to bedside testing of critically ill patients. While the "ideal" technology would involve the ability to obtain accurate stat profile values on a continuous basis via noninvasive methods, given the present state of noninvasive sensing technologies, this capability is unlikely to be achieved in the foreseeable future. In principle, invasive and on-line techniques offer more hope for future success in continuous bedside monitoring of all the key critical care analyses. However, success in these directions will come only when issues regarding sensor stability and sampling device/sensor biocompatibility are completely solved. Until then, it appears that the user-friendly point of care type stat analyzers that can provide accurate values for all the key analytes, used in conjunction with existing noninvasive trend monitors (eg, pulse oximetry), will offer the most attractive approach for the effective treatment of critically ill patients.