Heart rate fragmentation improves general anesthesia state classification using machine learning

Accurate assessment of consciousness during general anesthesia is crucial for optimizing anesthetic dosage and patient safety. Current electroencephalogram-based monitoring devices can be inaccurate or unreliable in specific surgical contexts (e.g. cephalic procedures). This study investigated the feasibility of using electrocardiogram (ECG) features and machine learning to differentiate between awake and anesthetized states. A cohort of 48 patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia at the Tours hospital was recruited. ECG-derived features were extracted, including spectral power, heart rate variability and complexity metrics, as well as heart rate fragmentation indices (HRF). These features were augmented by a range of physiological variables. The aim was to evaluate a number of machine learning algorithms in order to identify the most appropriate method for classifying the awake and anesthetized states. The gradient boosting algorithm achieved the highest accuracy (0.84). Notably, HRF metrics exhibited the strongest predictive power across all models tested. The generalizability of this ECG-based approach was further assessed using public datasets (VitalDB, Fantasia, and MIT-BIH Polysomnographic), achieving accuracies above 0.80. This study provides evidence that ECG-based classification methods can effectively distinguish awake from anesthetized states, with HRF indices playing a pivotal role in this classification. Author summaryGeneral anesthesia monitoring is critical for optimizing patient safety and outcomes. While electroencephalogram (EEG)-based systems are commonly used, they have limitations in accuracy and applicability, particularly in cases where EEG electrodes placement is challenging or impossible, such as during cephalic surgeries or when patients have forehead skin lesions. Here, a novel approach using electrocardiogram (ECG) signals and machine learning techniques was used to differentiate between awake and anesthetized states during surgery. A total of 48 patients undergoing surgical procedures under general anaesthesia at the Tours hospital were selected for inclusion in the study. This investigation focused on heart rate fragmentation indices, metrics designed for assessing biological versus chronological age, derived from ECG recordings. The gradient boosting algorithm demonstrates performance comparable to leading methods reported in the literature for this classification task. Importantly, model generalizability was confirm through successful application to publicly available datasets. This article highlights the potential of ECG signals as an alternative source for deriving depth of anesthesia indices, offering increased versatility in clinical settings where EEG monitoring is challenging or contraindicated.