Man-machine interface: the position of the anaesthetic machine in the operating room.

The question posed for this study was: "While holding a watching brief during an uneventful intra-abdominal surgical procedure do anaesthetics adopt the same position in the operating room with reference to the patient's head and "anaesthetic machine" and, if they do, what is it?" A study of the relative positions of the patient, the anaesthetist, and the "anaesthetic machine" during routine laparotomy showed great variation. The implication was that there was also great variation in the amount of movement necessary by the anaesthetist if the same amount of information was to be obtained with the same frequency. The significance of this with reference to the quality of patient care is discussed. The role of changes in apparatus and the declared need for this by anaesthetics is mentioned and recommendations regarding the visual acquisition of data during anaesthesia are made.