Computers in Cardiac Surgery

The initial use of an automated ( i.e. , computer-based) system for the management of cardiac surgical patients at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) occurred in July 1967. The automated system was designed and built at UAB based on an Internal Business Machines Corporation (IBM) Model 1800 data acquisition and control system. Patient devices included electrocardiographic leads, intracardiac pressure monitoring lines, and intra-vascular catheters ( e.g. , peripheral arterial, pulmonary arterial, and central venous). Custom-built systems weighed urine and mediastinal blood as it drained from the patient and recorded the weight as volume (milliliters). Other peripheral systems infused blood products ( e.g. , packed red blood cells or filtered mediastinal blood) according to parameters set by the physician ( e.g. , left atrial pressure and/or arterial pressure). The use of computers to gather and archive patient data became standard in intensive care units (ICUs). Extension of computer technology to other aspects of patient management including quality assurance and coding/billing became important applications.