The benefits of virtual instrumentation are increased performance and reduced costs.
Because the user controls the technology through software, the flexibility of virtual
instrumentation is unmatched by traditional instrumentation. The modular, hierarchical
programming environment of virtual instrumentation is inherently reusable and
reconfigurable.
In effect, virtual instrumentation allows the user to “morph,” (i.e., replicate and/or customize)
the functionality of traditional “vendor-defined” instruments (such as the oscilloscope
shown in Figure 136-1) into virtual “user-defined” instruments on a standard
computer or personal digital assistant (PDA).
Virtual instrumentation applications have encompassed nearly every industry, including
the telecommunications, automotive, semiconductor and biomedical industries. In the fields of health care and biomedical engineering, virtual instrumentation has empowered
developers and end-users to conceive of, develop, and implement a wide variety of
research-based biomedical applications and executive information tools. These applications
fall into several categories, including process improvement, decision support, and
clinical research. The following case studies are intended to illustrate the myriad of applications
that are possible with this powerful technology