ABSTRACT
Many critical decisions and actions are driven by data presented on product displays. Such data includes blood test results for a critically-ill patient, the pressure in a power plant boiler, or an airplane’s airspeed. Depending on the use scenario and the frequency of data changes, a short delay might or might not be acceptable. Less frequent updating of slow-changing data might be advantageous because it cuts out distracting and relatively meaningless changes compared to an averaged value that gets updated every 10 minutes, for example. One automatic blood glucose measurement system used at a patient’s bedside works similarly to the non-invasive blood pressure monitor—it measures the patient’s blood glucose value at regular intervals. The system displays the last measurement time right next to the current time of day, enabling the healthcare professional to compare the time stamp with the current time to determine the measurement’s age.
