What ethical-legal issues can arise in their development, testing, and marketing?
• What might be their long-term, adverse consequences? How could these ill-effects be avoided? • How might one verify that the devices perform those functions–and only those–which their designers intended? The NIH consensus conference on medical uses of microprocessors* was convened to allow practitioners, researchers, and others to attempt to seek agreement on these issues. By meeting during a formative stage in the technology’s development they might thus be able to guide its development along lines which are most responsive to society’s needs. The conference began with nine invited papers on technical and social aspects of the subject–including six on recent applications. There then followed separate consensus panels which discussed the issues above in regard to use of the technology in (1) medical history taking, physical examinations, laboratory testing, and special procedures; (2) diagnosis and decision making; and (3) treatment and monitoring. (Note: During the summer of 1978
