Atari 800XL Used For Heart Diagnostics

fuxoft writes: "Even today, 8-bit Atari can save your life! This article (with photographs) reports that Atari 800XL is still used in one of the biggest Czech hospitals, for diagnostics of children with heart problems. Even here, in the Czech Republic, where the technology is not always 100% up-to-date, this is very weird indeed."

Comments

It's not weird

[rde]

At the risk of sounding like an anti-consumer-society rantist, what's weird is that all these computers are being thrown out when they're still useful. How many people out there are using a PIII for surfing and a bit of word processing? How many 486s are thrown out each year because they're obsolete?

The 800XL is a powerful computer. Not by today's standards, perhaps, but basic data-processing needs haven't advanced so much in the last fifteen years that the an atari, a ti99-4a or even the noble spectrum can't handle them. I'd have my doubts about a vic 20, but I've had those doubts for decades now.

Personally, I'm delighted that these things are still being used, rather than stuck on a landfill leeching lead and PCBs into the ground.

in case of /.-ing

[myster0n]

The links go to the original JPEGS on their site - be gentle

Atari in hospital

I was contacted some time ago by some person asking me if I can help with repair or replacement of Atari 800XL for hospital. I was very curious about that, because it's known that Czech hospitals are in bad financial situation but I just wondered how they could use it at the end of the nineties. The person was kind enough to send me some details about setup and also sent me few pictures.

Description
It's used in child cardiocenter in Faculty Hospital Motol for the heart diagnosis. They are looking for uninvited leaks between two parts of heart. Principle is in injecting isotope in blood and screening its movement in vascular system of pacient.

Usage
1) Computer is started, program is loaded from cassette.
2) Entering the data of patient (name, birthdate, height, weight).
3) Entering the date & time of checkup.
4) Entering the age of the isotope.
5) Program computes the optimal amount of isotope.
6) The probes are pointed to certain places of patient's body.
7) Injection of isotope.
8) For 5 minutes the program records the data from the probes.
9) Saving the data to cassette.
10) Disconnecting the gamma interface, connecting the teletype interface.
11) Priting of the protocol to teletype.

The checkup could be done by usage of other gamma camera, but it takes about 1 hour and the amount of isotope needs to be higher.

Setup
4 gamma probes
plotter
Atari 800 XL
Atari XC 12 datasette with Turbo2000
teletype T100
interface Atari gamma probes (two joystick connectors)
interface Atari teletype (one joystick connector)
monitor

Pictures
(70 KB JPG)
Detail of setup. Black box at the left behind is power supply for interface.

(74 KB JPG)
Overall look to gamma probes and plotter.

(67 KB JPG)
Detail of setup.

(66 KB JPG)
Overall look. At the left is teletype machine.

(65 KB JPG)
Overall look.

(62 KB JPG)
Detail of sticker on the computer. I wonder where did they got it.

Atari pages accessed xxx times.Last modified: Wed Dec 6 13:33:40 2000
(c) 2000 Jindroush

Why Atari?

[Mike Schiraldi]

I think an NES would be better - just think of games like Zelda, with built-in heart monitors. When you supply of hearts gets low, it starts beeping. Viola.

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