Concept for the integration of PC based ECG devices into an existing departmental information system

Many diagnostic devices include personal computers with highly specialized and validated software. Integrating this software into existing heterogeneous structures is the current problem one faces more and more often. The general requirement in the authors' case was to integrate ECG findings, i.e., curves and their interpretation, into a UNIX based relational database system, so that they can be accessed both by PCs and X-Terminals. In detail, interfaces between the different systems had to be provided for the import of patient demographic data into the ECG PCs and for the export of structured information in return. The problem arising is the required access from the UNIX environment, as the software is based on PCs and there were no browsers provided. The authors outline solutions to this problem and describe the general concept for the integration of PC based commercial software.