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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

Design philosophy of air quality surveillance systems.

This paper discusses the design philosophy of the air quality surveillance systems which Kennecott is installing in the vicinity of its copper smelters in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. These monitoring systems are part of supplementary control systems (SCS) that are utilized to ensure that short-term ambient air quality standards are met. These systems utilize minicomputers as remote terminals. The interface between a terminal and the primary sensors is via specially designed input/output circuitry. The system is controlled by a centralized host minicomputer, which is connected to each of the remote stations via a telephone line communication network. Real time data is displayed on cathode ray tubes located at strategic locations in the plants. This paper will discuss the system design philosophy from both a hardware and software point of view. The actual experience in design, development, and installation of the system will also be discussed.

Air Pollutants↗

A medical record database in radiology.

A database system on the medical records of radiation therapy, computer tomographic and radioisotopic examinations of our department was created in Computing Center of Hokkaido University which has two remote terminals in the department. Old three filing systems which had been kept in three sections of our department independently since 1972 were integrated by the creation of the database. The main functions of our database management system are as follows; 1. data input through two minicomputers in the department; 2. data loading to the database from the minicomputers; 3. production of key word files and link files for generalised data handling. Seven files are defined in the database with total data of 30 Mega bytes at the end of 1981. Many programs for information retrieval and data processings were prepared and every member of the department can share both data and application programs registered. Outline and operation of the database system and some examples of data processings are reported.

Computers↗

Two-parameter data acquisition system for rapid slit-scan analysis of mammalian chromosomes.

A data acquisition system is described for recording two independent signals simultaneously from a laser-based flow cytometer for rapid slit-scan chromosome analysis. High-aperture microscope optics allow recording of fluorescence distributions along the longest axis of metaphase chromosomes with a spatial resolution better than 1 micron. Fluorescence and small angle forward light scatter as well as dual-wavelength fluorescence signals from Indian muntjac chromosomes stained with propidium iodide (PI) or acridine orange (AO) have been recorded simultaneously. While maintaining the multi-user operation of the computer, photomultiplier signals are digitized at a rate of 400 signals per second, stored temporarily in high-speed cache memories, and transferred subsequently to a minicomputer for further storage. Extensive software packages for data acquisition, analysis, and display of the results are described. Data acquisition is generally done in list mode, allowing complete reconstruction of individual signals (profiles) at any time. The distribution of stained constituents along the chromosomes can be displayed. Furthermore, histograms of various parameters of the input signals may be generated.

Acridine Orange↗

Material test system for the evaluation of mechanical properties of biomaterials.

A new material test system has been designed to evaluate the mechanical properties of biomaterials which are very often subject to complicated dynamic and repetitive force and deformation inside the body. The test system has high versatility, being incorporated with a miniature servo-hydraulic testing machine which can smoothly apply various modes of load and deformation to materials, and a vidicon displacement analyzer for the accurate, noncontact measurement of specimen length. A minicomputer system is used for the data acquisition and processing. Performance tests of the system and preliminary experiments on elastomeric polymers have indicated that the test system is very useful for the detailed studies of the mechanical properties of various kinds of biomaterials.

Biocompatible Materials↗

A parallel algorithm for rotating-frame zeugmatography.

An algorithm, which utilizes a high degree of parallel processing, has been developed for two-dimensional rotating-frame zeugmatography so that a picture of 256 X 256 pixels can be generated with a minicomputer system 2 sec after data accumulation. An array processor is employed as a second processor and, the refresh memory of a display unit is used as a fast data storage entity. Approximately half the calculations are carried out in the array processor during the nuclear relaxation period. Data movement to and from the display memory occurs largely during, and in parallel with, the array processing. The sequence can be run at a repetition rate of 35 msec per free induction decay and the algorithm can be implemented in any two-dimensional experiment of the Fourier transform genre.

Data Display↗

Digital image processing of electron micrographs: the PIC system-III.

The PIC system is an integrated package of image processing software written in Fortran and C. Throughout its 16 years of continuous development, PIC has been designed for the processing of electron micrographs with emphasis on the particular requirements for structural analysis of biological macromolecules. PIC has been implemented on successive generations of Digital Equipment Corporation dedicated minicomputers and workstations. The latest version, PIC-III, runs on Alpha workstations and represents a substantial upgrading in functionality compared with PIC-II, the VAX version previously described (B.L. Trus et al. (1992), Scanning Microsc. Suppl. 6, 441-451). PIC now possesses an X-windows menu-driven graphical user interface that many be utilized from both local or remote X-window terminals or workstations. Other new features include dynamic memory allocation; an open systems approach to interfacing with other image processing software packages; interface options with visualization software; and programs to reconstruct three-dimensional density maps of both helical filaments and free-standing particles with and without symmetry.

Computer Simulation↗

Automatic construction of pulmonary functional images.

Dynamic study of regional ventilation of Xenon-133 with a gamma camera requires the medical interpretation of many analog scintigraphic images and time-consuming curve analysis. We have developed a program for the immediate creation of two functionally digitalized images by minicomputer which collects the data from the whole study. These images are constructed by assigning a value to each pont which depends upon the dynamic phenomenon. The program automatically computes the working files of the dynamic acquisition, performs the background subtraction, and delineates the boundaries of the lungs using isoactivity lines. Then the functional images of transit time and clearance of the radioactive gas in the alveoli are reconstructed. This processing takes less than 1 min and allows both time sharing and enhancement of interpretation.

Computers↗

Multiprocessing computer system for sensory evoked potentials and EEG spectral analysis for clinical neurophysiology laboratory.

A general-purpose minicomputer has been adapted and interfaced for the averaging and analysis of clinical evoked potentials and for compressed spectral arrays (CSA) of the routine EEG. In the first 2 years of operation, over 1,000 routine clinical studies of visual evoked potentials (VEP) and brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) have been performed with it, as well as over 100 CSAs and a variety of special and research studies. The CSA modality gives comparative frequency-domain pictures of left and right hemisphere power. An attached graphics terminal gives a live cumulative display of the EP and CSA. In addition, the system has automated and comprehensive physician-interactive graphics analysis and report generation capabilities. The reports are finalized versions used in the patient's chart, minimizing clerical efforts.

Brain Stem↗

A prototype generalized network technology for hospitals: initial implementation.

A demonstration implementation of a distributed data-processing hospital information system using an intelligent local area communications network (LACN) technology is described. This system is operational at the UCSF Medical Center and integrates four heterogeneous, stand-alone minicomputers. The applications systems are PID/Registration, Outpatient Pharmacy, Clinical Laboratory, and Radiology/Medical Records. Functional autonomy of these systems has been maintained, and no operating system changes have been required. The LACN uses a fiber-optic communications medium and provides extensive communications protocol support within the network, based on the ISO/OSI Model. The architecture is reconfigurable and expandable. This paper describes system architectural issues, the applications environment, and the local area network.

California↗

LAMP. A data management and analysis system for patient registries and clinical studies.

A computer system for the management and analysis of clinical data is described. The system is implemented in the ANSI standard MUMPS language and runs on popular minicomputers. The system is designed to allow clinical investigators or research assistants to define a data base, enter and edit data, produce patient-specific reports, and perform a variety of analyses on user-specified groups of subjects. Programmer intervention is not required at any stage of the management or analysis process, and on-line documentation provides a friendly environment for inexperienced users.

Computers↗

The use of X-terminals as clinical workstations.

The Medical Computer Facility at the Fox Chase Cancer Center has installed X-terminals in patient examination rooms and at nursing stations for clinical data access by physicians and nurses. The X-terminals are connected to UNIX operating system RISC processors via Ethernet. The RISC processors communicate with databases on a minicomputer cluster. Simultaneous presentation of textual (e.g., pathology and radiology reports) and graphical (e.g., clinical laboratory results) clinical data is provided under X-Windows. CT and MRI images can also be displayed in windows. Our experiences implementing X-terminal clinical workstations in a production environment will be discussed.

Cancer Care Facilities↗

A strategy for coordination of end-user computing in hospital departments.

This paper discusses issues associated with end-user computing and describes an approach for coordination of departmental end-user computing that was implemented at Concord Hospital, Sydney, Australia. There are a number of pressures for end-user computing. These include the inability of IS departments to provide the services that users require, the increasing spread of computing skills and the advent of the microcomputer. The traditional approaches to computing are discussed and the concern over security explained. The potential benefits of greater involvement of users in systems development and support is discussed. Information systems development needs to be a collaborative activity. At Concord Hospital, a number of departments have responsibility for their own local minicomputer and microcomputer based systems. Coordination of this systems effort was seen as important in order to maximize the benefits of end-user computing while seeking to minimize duplication of effort, data or systems, or security risks.

Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over↗

Migrating a clinical laboratory information system between technologies.

The technical revolution that has strongly driven events in the clinical laboratory for the last thirty years is now threatening to make obsolete what has become the central pillar of operation in many laboratories, the minicomputer-based laboratory information system. Some of its functions could easily be absorbed by the personal computers which are proliferating in the laboratory, but any single step leap between systems risks replacing order with chaos. Appropriate use of networking tools, together with essential software development, can provide a systematic migrational path for both the administrative and technical computer support from one environment to another without the trauma of a massive replacement step.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗

The design of a computer-assisted education system using a CT scanner computer.

The minicomputer that is part of a commercial CT scanner has been used to develop a general purpose computer-assisted education system. This allows instruction in radiology using the CT computer already installed in the radiology department. The computer software was designed as a course interpreter, allowing the courses themselves to be written in English. Images and educational text are stored on separate disk files and displayed by the interpreter.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗

Investigation of human right ventricular cast specimens.

Fifty human right ventricular cast specimens were subjected to X-ray cineangiography in biplane right anterior oblique and left anterior oblique (RAO/LAO) projection. From the silhouettes seen in the two projection planes we estimated areas and lengths using a light-pen minicomputer system and calculated the volumes using various methods. The calculated volume values were compared with the true values determined by water displacement. The methods were then arranged is order of decreasing accuracy. Criteria for judging model quality were the mean squared deviations, correlation coefficient, and residual variance. The most accurate calculation of the right ventricular volume was obtained with Ferlinz' method and our own empirical approach.

Cardiac Volume↗

In vivo choroidal thickness measurement.

We developed a system that permits exceptionally accurate measurements of human choroidal thickness in vivo by means of ultrasound. With minicomputer techniques, the complementary functions of the time and spectral domains of reflected sound can be used to permit measurements accurate to less than 20 mu at 10 MHz center frequency. Even more accuracy can be obtained with higher center frequencies. Choroidal thickness has been found to exceed that previously reported, with typical values of 420 mu found at the posterior pole. Even greater values are seen in regions outside the macula.

Cornea↗

Rapid precision interferometry for the analytical ultracentrifuge. III. Determination of period of rotation, frequency of rotation, and elapsed time.

The approaches presented in this series of papers make possible rapid gathering, reduction, and analysis of data from the Rayleigh interference optical system of an analytical ultracentrifuge. Instrumentation described in this paper provides some of the timing and measurement circuits necessary for a microprocessor or minicomputer to determine the rotor frequency, rotor period, and elapsed time of an experiment. It includes simple but effective circuits to generate precise rotor timing pulses that are useful for synchronization of pulsed light sources. Circuits to control photographic operations in the ultracentrifuge are described briefly. All of these circuits are interfaced to a simple microcomputer address/data bus. An adapter between this bus and a Q-bus (for a DEC LSI-11/2 or LSI 11/23 microcomputer) is also described. The circuits presented have been used in this laboratory over a 3-year period. They have proven reliable and form an integral part of the real-time data acquisition systems that have been constructed.

Interferometry↗

A program for non-linear regression analysis to be used on desk-top computers.

A simple program for non-linear regression analysis, based upon the strategy of evolution, is described. It should run on any minicomputer (even on "personal computers') if a BASIC interpreter is available. It can easily be modified for the both the type of function and the "best fitting' condition.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗