Medical systems help doctors and nurses diagnose and treat patients. Hospitals and clinics rely extensively on computer technology to examine patients, cure disease, advance the science of medicine, and conduct the business of health care.

Embedded Systems

Many visits to a hospital start in the emergency room, which may be filled with electronic devices that look nothing like desktop computers. However, most of these devices rely on an embedded microprocessor, the same type of chip that powers other computers. Instead of using a stethoscope, a nurse may depend on an embedded chip in a blood pressure machine to measure a patient's pulse and blood pressure. Another embedded processor may help take the patient's temperature or deliver controlled amounts of a drug through an intravenous tube at regular intervals. These types of systems ease the burden on medical workers and improve the quality of care...