Biomedical equipment information management for the next generation

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital's Department of Biomedical Instrumentation has developed an equipment management system that satisfies equipment control and equipment failure analysis needs. The system utilizes the user-friendly interface and intuitive learning processes afforded through the use of the Apple Macintosh microcomputer. Standard over-the-counter software, ACIUS's 4th Dimension database manager, is used to provide a local area network based system that is composed of 15 local work stations and several remote stations. The system's features may be configured to satisfy a department's specific needs, and the number of users is limited only by the practical size of the network. Data entry is carried out via the keyboard and an optical mark-sense scanner. The mark-sense scanner, an HEITM Autofeed Page Scanner, is the central part of the equipment management system.