Interfacing the IBM-PC to Medical Equipment: The Art of Serial Communication

by Richard W. D. Nickalls, R. Ramasubramanian

Overview

This book describes the techniques used for interfacing a PC to a range of medical equipment used internationally in the areas of anesthesia, intensive care, surgery, respiratory medicine and physiology. The first part of the book addresses serial interface, including the RS-232 Standard, transmission of data, and an introduction to serial-interface programming using Microsoft QuickBASIC. The second looks at electrical safety, and the use of Kermit and data analysis. Finally, the third part of this volume considers the practical aspects of interfacing a PC to a wide range of equipment and includes example programs for collecting data and in some cases for controlling the equipment directly.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521462808
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/09/1995
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	428
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

Table of Contents

Part I. The Serial Interface: 1. The RS-232 standard; 2. Transmission of data; 3. Flow control; 4. The PC serial interface; 5. Serial interface programming in QuickBASIC; Part II. Miscellaneous Topics: 6. Kermit; 7. Electrical safety and the PC; 8. Data analysis; Part III. The Equipment: 9. The Ohmeda 3700 and 3740 pulse oximeters; 10. The Nellcor N-200E pulse oximeter; 11. The Novametrix 515A pulse oximeter; 12. The Minolta Pulsox-7 pulse oximeter; 13. The Datex CardiocapTMII and Capnomac UltimaTM series of monitors; 14. The Graseby 3400 syringe pump; 15. The Ohmeda 9000 syringe pump; 16. The Vitalograph compact II spirometer; 17. The Ohmeda 7800 ventilator; 18. The Dräger Evita intensive care ventilator; Appendices: 1. ASCII control and graphic characters; 2. Serial port connector pin-outs; 3. Key codes; 4. The null modem; 5. Program for a device simulator; 6. QuickBASIC 4.5 OPEN and OPEN COM statements; 7. Plotting data using GNUPLOT; 8. Binary and hexadecimal notation; 9. Glossary of terms and abbreviations; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...a comprehensive text on the methods of serial communication...Students of medicine or computer engineering, researchers, anesthesiologists, respiratory therapists, and anyone involved in critical care monitoring will find this book of immense value...This compilation will prove to be of great assistance to anyone interested in serial connectivity, especially to one of the 10 pieces of equipment specifically covered in the last section. The subject is completely covered from conceptual basics to actual implementation. The authors have succeeded in condensing the myriad of references, technical manuals, and other information normally necessary to accomplish this often confusing task." John J. Fino, Jr., Doody's Health Sciences Book Review Journal

From the Publisher

This is a comprehensive text on the methods of serial communication. It moves from the elements of the RS-232 communication protocol through personal computer interfacing, flow control and data transmission, to actual sample programs for specific medical instrumentation. The purpose is to simplify the task of collecting all the documentation and expertise necessary to connect an IBM-compatible PC to medical instrumentation to control and collect data via their serial ports. Students of medicine or computer engineering, researchers, anesthesiologists, respiratory therapists, and anyone involved in critical care monitoring will find this book of immense value if they find that they need data analysis or archiving beyond that which their stand-alone medical instruments provide. This book contains considerable documentation on the specifics of serial communication such as control codes and register addresses. A number of related topics such as electrical safety and the statistical analysis and graphing of data are also discussed. Two thirds of the book is dedicated to specific programs for current models of oximeters, syringe pumps, ventilators, and anesthesia monitors, written in Microsoft QuickBASIC 4.5. This compilation will prove to be of great assistance to anyone interested in serial connectivity, especially to one of the 10 pieces of equipment specifically covered in the last section. The subject is completely covered from conceptual basics to actual implementation. The authors have succeeded in condensing the myriad of references, technical manuals, and other information normally necessary to accomplish this often confusing task.

John J. Fino