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New developments in electronics technology appear at an ever-increasing rate, and it is often difficult to keep abreast of all the new devices available. What effect have recent developments had on electronic instrumentation?

In this era of the coronary care unit, the versatility and problems of electronic instrumentation have been the focus of attention. Indeed, to the casual visitor to the newly formed coronary care unit, the total emphasis appears to be placed on this monitoring and alarm equipment. The fact remains that whether the patient survives in this electronically elegant environment to any greater extent than on an open ward, depends much more on the people who are there (nurses and paramedical personnel), than on the fancy machines. The medical personnel's training and experience is paramount to success. Comprehensive Cardiac Care , a readable manual written by nurses and physicians from Duke University Medical Center, is a welcome textbook designed specifically for coronary care personnel. Concise but not over-simplified discussions of the anatomy, physiology, and pathology necessary for nurses and their helpers to cope with the problems of patients under observation for myocardial

Fortunately, there is not yet in sight any electronic replacement for the trained nurse, despite intensive efforts by manufacturers of medical-electronics apparatus. However, electronic instrumentation has been for some time an accepted part of the equipment of surgical operating theatres and medical research laboratories, and is now becoming a familiar sight at the hospital-ward bedside.

The pervasive "scientism" of our time has nowhere been more evident than in the study of extrapyramidal disorders and particularly in the numerous attempts to measure and define tremor and rigidity. In recent years highly sophisticated electronic instrumentation and mathematical techniques of analysis have been brought to bear in these endeavors giving them the appearance of important scientific enterprises. However, astonishingly little has been achieved and it may fairly be said that a century of tremorology has thrown very little light on the mechanism of tremor and still less on the nature or pathophysiology of extrapyramidal disorders. Nevertheless uncritical faith in the magical powers of technic continues undiminished and the "glorious entertainment" goes on with unabated vigor. In these circumstances, this brief monograph is a most welcome and refreshing breath of fresh air demonstrating again the continuing value of astute observation and thoughtful analysis of clinical phenomena seen at the

This book is another in the rapidly growing library on instrumentation and electronics for medical personnel. It covers a broader field than the title suggests. The author has separated the discussion into several areas. After a brief review of fundamentals of electricity and electrical measurements, there are chapters related to the nature of light, light production, and light measurements. Instruments based on the measurements of emission or absorption of light are discussed, and some of the theory of colorimetry and photometry is presented. Next there is a discussion of methods that do not use light. This section covers specific ion electrodes, electrophoresis, chromatography, osmolality, and particle and radioactivity counting. The second half contains discussions of electronics and includes material on semiconductors and vacuum tubes and some circuits with these components. Also included are discussions of counting circuits and computers. The answer to the question of what audience this book was

The development of electronic instrumentation is extensively influenced by materials availability and the economic environment. This article investigates those influences and looks at possible directions the industry might take

A review is made of current electronic instrumentation in use in submersibles, habitats and by divers. The design constraints of the underwater environment and their effect on electronics is discussed. A prediction is made of future requirements in the three applications considered.