A hybrid computer system for use in cardiology.

Recent upsurge in the use of physiologic data for medical diagnostic and treatment procedures has prompted the medical profession to use the computer to automate and reduce the time required for data processing. Although the digital computer has traditionally been used to perform these tasks, a hybrid computer (combined analog and digital) has been found to provide many advantages over the digital computer, especially where on-line data processing is concerned. As a result, the Bio-Medical Engineering Center has installed a centrally located hybrid computer system at Ohio State University. One of the applications of this system has been processing cardiac catheterization data. Data is transmitted between the hospital and computer via infrared optics. The data can be analyzed in real time, with the results immediately available to the physician.