Reinforcement learning versus proportional-integral-derivative control of hypnosis in a simulated intraoperative patient.

Background: Research has demonstrated the efficacy of closed-loop control of anesthesia using bispectral index (BIS) as the controlled variable. Model-based and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers outperform manual control. We investigated the application of reinforcement learning (RL), an intelligent systems control method, to closed-loop BIS-guided, propofol-induced hypnosis in simulated intraoperative patients.