frank@dciem.UUCP (Frank Evans) (08/13/86)
Has anyone out there had any experience with using analog/digital converters on the Mac. I see that a company called 'GW Instruments' sells an analog/digital converter with software for the Mac. Has anyone had any experience with this device or any similar product. I would like to use my Mac+ to record and display various physiologic data such as EKG, BP, etc. I would also like to be able to print out a hard copy of the data as well measure it. If anyone has had any experience in this area, I would deeply appreciate your advice or assistance.
werner@ut-ngp.UUCP (Werner Uhrig) (08/21/86)
In article <1913@dciem.UUCP>, frank@dciem.UUCP (Frank Evans) writes: > I see that a company called 'GW Instruments' sells an analog/digital converter > with software for the Mac. Has anyone had any experience with this device or > any similar product. > > I would like to use my Mac+ to record and display various physiologic data > such as EKG, BP, etc. I would also like to be able to print out a hard copy of > such data as well measure it. If anyone has had any experience in this area, > I would deeply appreciate your advice or assistance. National Instruments Corporation has recently demoed their LabView program to the local user-groups and we all loved it. I *SOLICITED* on your (you folks out there) behalf to be allowed to upload some of their materials, with the permission to trim any of the advertising hype I find unnecessary, because I believe that even snapshots of an otherwise dynamic screen-display WILL KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF. Any day now ... In the meantime, get your hands on the April 17, 86 copy of "Electronic Design" which has a feature article on this product (including front-page coverage) Well, I'll type in a quick extract from their flyer: LABVIEW: New Technology for Scientific Test and Measurement ----------------------------------------------------------- LabView is a Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench for the Macintosh. L provides a complete integrated environment for scientific test and measurement applications involving instrument control, data acquisition, data analysis, data display, data management, and report generation. Because L is a complete programming environment, it is also well suited to stand-alone applications involving scientific computation, modeling, and experimentation. The Virtual Instrument Concept. -------------------------------- The uniqueness of L is the packaging and representation of a software module as a Virtual Instrument - with a defined set of inputs and outputs and a defined purpose. the user develops application software by building Virtual Instruments. A VI is a real instrument, consisting of a front panel for interactive operation, a block diagram program specifying the functionality in terms of lower level VIs, and an icon (or picture) which allows programmatic use in the block diagrams of higher-level VIs. Block Diagram Programming ------------------------- .... L eliminates the overhead associated with conventional programming languages - jobs like creating data structures, matching data types, preparing data for display, compiling and linking multiple software components, etc. The block diagram is the actual program [shades of ChipWits] and may be executed at any time. L uses data flow, parallel processing, and multitasking concepts to execute the diagram exactly as it is drawn. A block diagram program is created by editing the block diagram window. The user arranges graohical elements and wires them together with the mouse. A complete set of built-in functions are provided with the system. Familiar program control structures are represented as graphical regions which may be sized as desired. Functions placed inside these regions take on the characteristics of the particular structure. Feedback in the form of a variety of 'wire' styles prohibits invalid connections and provides visual information about the structure of the data flow between components. IEEE-488 Programming Made Easy ------------------------------- ...controlling a remote instrument in L is accomplished by designing a virtual instrument which is essentially an instrument driver. the front panel reconstructs the intuitive way the user wants to use the instrument. the instrument can now operate directly from the new front panel or programmatically in the block diagram of a higher level design. All of the troublesome remote control details are forgotten forever, neatly tucked away in the block diagram behind the new front panel. L comes complete with high level functions for IEEE-488 programming, a library of example Virutal Instruments designed for popular IEEE-488 equipment, and a step-by-step guide to handling IEEE-488 instrumentation. [ now for the bad news: the cost of the goodies ...] STANDARD EQUIPMENT: Labview on 2 disks $1955 OPTIONAL: GPIB-MAC (full function IEEE-488 interface box on serial port) $695 MACBus (sophisticated expansion chassis for the Mac+ SCSI-port) $1695 (high-performance IEEE-488 interface and IBM PC/AT compatible (expansion slots as well as a variety of other PC-compatible (plug-in cards. [ Disclaimers apply. I've only seen the demo, not played with it myself, know the company and pricipals only from the demos ] For more info, contact: National Instruments, 12109 Technology Blvd, Austin TX 78727-6204 (512)250-9119 (800)531-4742 in Texas: (800)IEEE-488 Telex: 756 737 NAT INST AUS [ that demo is a "near-religious" experience similar to seeing MacPaint for the first time .... with little shouts of delight, and such ... given the price, that's as close as most of us will get to it, so don't miss it when it plays in a theatre in your neighborhood ... ---Werner ]