INTEGRATION OF DATA, INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE IN INTELLIGENT PATIENTMONITORING

Efficient patient monitoring requires the integration of bedside monit ors, database information and the application of artificial intelligen ce (AI) techniques, in order to obtain correct interpretations and to prescribe appropriate therapies. In this article, the authors present the new architecture of PATRICIA, an intelligent monitoring system des igned to advise clinicians in the management of patients in the intens ive care unit (ICU). The system's new architecture is based on current trends in the design of hospital health care systems, and allows inte gration of bedside monitors to front-end computers, and through the da ta network to a central monitor that controls and manages all the netw ork operations. We have applied the client-server philosophy that take s advantage from information integration, shared resources and equipme nt networking. This approach results in an efficient and flexible syst em, and offers several benefits from the clinical point of view, as it serves as a helping tool for clinical decision-making in an ICU envir onment. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.