Determining efficacy of monitoring devices: evaluating new technologies

We point out the connection between electronic monitoring and repeated screening tests, and suggest a flexible and practical method to determine the efficacy of monitoring devices and new technologies. We point out the benefits of the Mantel-Haenszel estimator of an odds ratio for determining diagnostic test indices. From estimates of sensitivities and specificities, we produce receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to compare the performance of two or more monitoring devices in a clinical setting.