Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) who require a ventilator to help them breathe also require sedation in order to keep them comfortable and prevent injury. The national guidelines for sedation management include a daily interruption of sedation performed once each morning. To determine the amount of sedation needed, the current standard practice is to use a system called the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS). The patient is stimulated by calling their name or by tapping their shoulder until the patient's responses indicate that a satisfactory level of sedation has been achieved.