| Abstract | We have used a computer to record and display data from newborn infants with respiratory illnesses. The system has been designed to (1) collect brief clinical details; (2) collect values for arterial blood-gas tensions, acid-base status, and variables relating to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and mechanical ventilation; and (3) display the respiratory data in graphical form both on television screens in the neonatal intensive care unit and on paper, for permanent storage in the case notes. We report here our experience with this system during a period of 25 months. [The computer is a PDP 11/45 machine located in the Medical Physics Department of the hospital, connected by cables to a terminal in the neonatal intensive care unit. The terminal consists of two television screens and a typewriter keyboard, sited in the centre of the unit, adjacent to the blood-gas analyzer.] |