A clinical computer and monitor.

The key to the early warning of a deteriorating clinical situation lies in the change in parameters rather than in their absolute value. This not only colours the choice of sensor, but also affects the design of the discriminators between the sensors and the logic circuits. While the sensors and logic are clearly the most important parts of the equipment, it is probably the presentation of information which will in the end decide the extent to which it is used by nursing staff, and every care must be taken to ensure, not only that false alarms are minimized, but that genuine alarms do not cause unnecessary agitation of the patient.