Software (and hardware) for the 'medics'

A normally enthusiastic biomedical engineer on the staff of a large hospital observed recently that he could probably contribute more to the quality of health care in that institution by improving its elevator service than he could by designing and applying new medical instruments. His statement may have contained more truth than humor. Constraints on medical instruments in a hospital environment can be so severe that any advance in technology may have little chance of getting into the health care system, let alone improve it. But in spite of hostile environments, lack of funds, shortages of skilled personnel, and myriad other problems, biomedical engineers are excited by the potential and the promise of the microprocessor. They know it will make new measurements possible and new systems practical that were not practical before.