The biomedical engineer and the doctor

The appearance of engineers with special training in biology has occurred only in the past fifteen years, and the spectacular contributions they can make to patient care have been confined mainly to the years since solid-state electronic circuitry became available. It is timely to review the relationships between them and the clinicians, and to indicate the growing interdependence they have on each other. The three points at which their interests converge most noticeably are: 1. in the collection, storage and display of data, 2. in the maintenance of electrical safety and the proper functioning of apparatus, and 3. in the design of electro-medical equipment.