Medical Applications of Microcomputers deals with microcomputer applications in a wide area of clinical medicine. Recent developments are discussed in several clinical specialties including medicine, surgery, urology, anaesthesia and oncology. Topics include the storage of analysis of clinical audit data, the display of processing of data from direct physiological measurements and computers in control of therapy. The authors draw on their practical experience and knowledge of specific areas to which they have applied modern microcomputer techniques and give detailed descriptions of the means by which the problems that may be encountered may be overcome. Those wishing to implement their own computer systems will find this book a useful further source of ideas and techniques which add to those described in the earlier volume "Microcomputers in Medicine" by the same editors.

This book is based on the proceedings of the fourth Medical Microcomputer Workshop held at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School on 3-5 September 1986. The workshop was attended by clinicians and computer scientists with an interest in applying computer technology to current medical practice. The problems ranged from audit and patient management through to the more complex applications of data analysis obtained from current diagnos tic techniques. The choice of microcomputers has never been greater with low cost making them readily available. A single microcomputer has limita tions in clinical practice and the use of networks for multi-user tasks has expanded its capability but increased the complexity both in terms of hardware and the software needed to run it. Although comprehensive commercial packages are available, none of these are entirely suitable for medical applications without modification. Many of the chapters presented in this book describe the problems encountered and the solutions achieved by configuring and modifying applications software.

Diagnostic radiology plays a vital role in patient management and all clinicians need to be able to recognize the radiological appearances of many medical conditions. Not only are traditional imaging techniques important, but newer techniques such as interventional radiology, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound are increasingly important to clinical practice. The interpretation of radiological images is also an integral part of professional examinations within general surgery. This book covers all modalities in radiology, providing a guide to the principles of plain radiographic film interpretation and an understanding of the roles and limitations of more complex imaging across general surgery. The use of contrast agents, radiation dosage, and guidance on the interpretation of some imaging modalities such as the chest and abdominal radiograph, intravenous urogram, and barium studies are included. The material is presented through the discussion of 101 fully illustrated cases which take a question and full answer format. Aimed primarily at surgical trainees facing the MRCS examinations, this book will also be of value to radiology trainees, junior doctors, senior medical students, and established clinicians that wish to refresh their knowledge in radiology.