A computer system for continuous long-term recording, processing, and analysis of physiological data of brain injured patients in ICU settings

The objective of this project was to assemble and test a computer-based sys tem for continuous longterm physiological data acquisition. The system woul d be used to study short-term (heart rate variability) and long-term (circa dian rhythms) dynamics of physiological parameters in severely brain injure d patients in ICU settings. A system has been built using open-source softw are and the Linux operating system as the platform. The system consists of three main parts: data acquisition, processing and analysis. The system was tested in ICU and experimental settings for long periods of time (up to 10 days of non-stop recording). The system appeared to function properly and accurately. Samples of the data according to the stages of acquisition-anal ysis process are presented in the paper. Avenues for the system use and dev elopment are discussed.