Computer-assisted measurements in pacemaker follow-up.

The application of increasingly sophisticated engineering techniques to cardiac pacemaker design has resulted in substantially greater complexity of follow-up which requires that more complicated measurements be made and interpreted. A feasibility study was conducted in which microcomputer software was designed to permit direct electronic communication between the computer and a commercial follow-up measurement device. This technique eliminates human error in reading or copying measurement data, and facilitates the application of computerized error-trapping, predictive interpretation of measurements, and database-management methods to pacemaker follow-up.