San Francisco, the town that welcomed the gold rush, opened its gates in October to nearly 20,000 anesthesiologists who discussed and debated everything from dealing with obese patients to whether chili peppers can help with acute pain. Each year I make it a point to walk the show floor to meet old friends and catch up on the latest products for anesthesia providers. Here's the gold I found this year. We'll be trialing some of these products at our hospital in Minneapolis in the near future .