Introduction

Abstract

Due to the rapid developments in electronic integrated circuit technology and sensor technology, the amount of information that is processed in modern electronic equipment is increasing rapidly. In many cases the information-carrying signal has to be processed at a location other than where it was generated, so that some system is required to transport the information from one location to another. Examples are the multi-channel telemetry systems currently used in process control, in cars and in surveillance, and other transmission systems such as remote controls, systems for audio and video transmission, local computer networks and inter-satellite communication. Other examples are the systems used in medical health care for measuring and monitoring physiological quantities such as the heart rate, blood pressure, muscular activity and brain activity. These systems are evolving and developing very quickly, since there is a demand for faster diagnosis and more accurate monitoring. This demand is caused by the fact that the number of patients in medical health care is increasing, while on the other hand the financial resources are not.