A significant change in the clinical engineering scene has occurred in recent years that has replaced qualitative and descriptive efforts by a quantitative biomedical science. In part, this change has been brought about by the advancement in the state-of-the-art of utilizing digital electronic computer systems called distributed data processing (DDP) systems. This paper discusses several commercially successful DDP systems presently available to the clinical engineer. A specialized form of distributed systems in which the processors communicate via local area network (LAN) is discussed. It promises an exciting opportunity for interconnecting complex electronic equipment in a large hospital.
(C)1983Aspen Publishers, Inc.