PATIENT MONITORING AND DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM

The system is composed of a plurality of bedside stations, each in the vicinity of a hospitalized patient, and each interconnected to a central station for monitoring and controlling the bedside stations. The bedside stations contain a plurality of physiological sensing and data sending modules. Each bedside unit contains a central processor for controlling the flow and format of data from the module and to the central station. The central station includes peripheral display units for selectively displaying data from each of the bedside stations. A central processor controls the flow of data from each bedside station to the peripheral displays and for communicating with each bedside processor. Data links are provided for the analog data from the central stations and data links for serial asynchronous data transmission from the bedside station to the central station and for commands from the central station to the bedside station. The waveforms from the bedside stations are frequency modulated through optical couplers to isolate the electric currents between each bedside station while delivering a distortion-free signal. The physiological sensing and data sending modules each include addressable memory which identifies the module to the bedside processor and the central processor. The system includes instructions which automatically perform diagnostic analysis of the circuitry of the system and at regular intervals. The system can be serviced by inserting a diagnostic memory board which displays questions that require responses by an operator which sequentially checks out all circuitry and peripherals of the system.