Interactive Computing

Abstract

Numerical data, from measurements taken on a patient or a biomedical experiment, usually require interpretation before any conclusions can be drawn from them. Although numbers are necessary for a precise analysis, our thoughts are normally organised in a qualitative manner, for which pictures and patterns are preferable. Thus the conventional plot of a variable with time can provide an immediate insight into the behaviour of particular aspects of a system. Further information might be obtained by rearranging or processing the data to display other features, whilst future trends might be predicted by analysis of previous patterns. The relationship of two parameters in a system might be deduced by plotting both to a common time scale or they may be plotted directly against each other, either method leading ultimately to rather refined pattern recognition by the observer. A computer allows data to be rapidly processed whilst display of the output on a visual display unit (VDU), in an immediately meaningful form, improves the communication from machine to man, and so acts as a direct aid to the thought processes.