A microcomputer based interactive system for the recording and automatic analysis of esophageal pH-studies

A microcomputer based system for the recording and automatic analysis of esophageal pH-studies has been developed. It consists of a microcomputer interfaced with a pH-meter, one video display, two disk-drives for five inch diskettes, one printer and a fully interactive program written in BASIC. Every second, the microcomputer records the values of pH measured by the pH-meter. The options available in the program are: 1) Creation of medical records; 2) pH probe calibration; 3) pH-basal value acquisition; 4) Standard Acid Reflux Test (SART); 5) Acid Clearing Test (ACT); 6) 24-hour pH-monitoring test; 7) Summary of patient's current results; 8) Printing and data file management. Each one of these options provides access to other related functions. This system and its software has the following advantages: 1) it achieves a high standard in the execution of esophageal pH-study tests; 2) it provides an objective real-time analysis of the results; 3) it reduces the total cost of the investigation.