It's Time to Discuss Bytes

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Microcomputer system in author's office.

A quiet revolution may have started in clinical orthodontic practice with the introduction in mid-1975 of the small, powerful, low cost, personal computer system. Computers are thought of as being large, complicated, and expensive. Computer systems that used to fill large rooms and cost millions of dollars, now occupy the space of a large typewriter, cost under $3000, and are simple to use and very powerful.

Government, large corporations, and universities have been using computers for over twenty years to control us, heal us, take us into space, track us down and jail us. Computers are so deeply integrated in our society it is interesting to contemplate what would happen if they were turned off. Does IBM have the ultimate control of our society?

Throughout the country, primary school children are using the new computers and junior and senior high school students are building them. These young people are using the computer to have fun, to create, to live out fantasies, and to learn. If we in orthodontics do not assimilate the new technologies at the clinical level, we will limit our progress.

Uses of the Computer in Clinical Orthodontics

What practical value has the computer in clinical orthodontics? It could be used for all the following applications, many of which are being used in other fields:

When we analyze a patient's problem, we have to muster everything we have learned-- what we have read in the literature and our clinical experiences. The conclusions we reach depend on how well we recall what we have learned. This task is becoming more difficult every day. It should be possible to computerize our literature into a program which could guide clinicians; and years of clinical observations could be evaluated and passed on, without the necessity for the clinician to read and listen to thousands of conflicting and confusing facts. Computer assisted diagnosis and treatment planning will undoubtedly expand in the future.

Before we can put computers to work in our offices, the following questions must be answered:

All of the answers can come from the personal computing hobby field. It is not necessary to go back to college to learn what needs to be known.

Computers

Computers vary in size, function and cost. Large scale computers can cost one to two million dollars; minicomputers can cost twenty to fifty thousand dollars; and microcomputers can cost one to ten thousand dollars. The main difference among them is the volume of data they can handle and the speed at which they operate.

The microcomputer is the latest addition to the group. It is slower, doing only 50,000-100,000 instructions per second. Its outstanding feature is that an ordinary mortal can understand and deal with all aspects of its operation. This means that we can use it in any creative way we wish. It is being used today by artists, musicians, stock brokers, neurologists, pharmacists and others.

Computers do only two things:

Hardware + Software = Computer System

A computer system is made up of two parts, hardware and software.

Hardware

Hardware is made up of two sections-- input/output devices and the computer. Input/output devices are the hands, eyes, ears and mouth of the system and get the information in and out of the computer.

Input devices. Any device can be an input device if what it produces can be measured electrically. This is usually a typewriter-like keyboard, but the group also includes strain gauges, temperature sensors and light sensitive devices. Devices are made in the $250 price range that can be taught to recognize and respond to only one person's voice. The input device is a microphone. Output devices. Any electromechanical device can be used as an output device, including TV sets, typewriters, tape recorders, lasers, and braille printers.

These input and output devices are referred to as peripheral devices and are usually wired to the computer.

The computer portion of the computer system is made up of three sections-- the input/output interface, the memory section, and the central processor.

The I/O interface. The input interface electronics converts the electrical signals from the input device into a form that the computer can understand. The output interface does just the reverse.Memory. It holds information that is being processed. This information may be instructions of what to do or information received from one of the input devices .Central processor. Everything must pass through the central processing unit to get to the other sections, so it is central control.

Software

The computer program, called software, is the instructions given to the computer to make it do what we want it to do. It usually takes many instructions to accomplish a task. There are two types of software programs:

System programs are the instructions to make the whole computer system work. They are usually obtained from a supply source, but one should be able to modify them for his own needs. Applications programs are those you write to get the computer to do something you want. These programs can be exchanged and modified as one chooses.

Getting Started

If you are interested in using a computer, how do you get started?

One way is to let a salesman sell you one. It is the easiest way, but the most expensive and least flexible way. You probably will not be able to do what you may want to do. You may get a super accounting machine and word processing machine, but you will be paying four to five times more than necessary; and, don't forget to note the cost of the service contract-- hundreds of dollars a month. If you buy such a machine, you will learn very little and be disappointed. New, improved devices are coming out every month. If you jump into this roaring stream, without some knowledge of what's downstream, you will get battered around. There are trade-offs between price, time, knowledge and flexibility.

Conclusion

Don't jump. Learn a little first. I would encourage you to approach this like a hobby, if you have the interest and the time. Anyone reading this article has the ability to put a computer together and obtain the knowledge to use it.

Find and join a computer hobby group in your area. Talk to these people and don't be afraid to ask questions. See if you have a computer store in your area. Talk to them, but don't buy anything other than literature. Be very careful. Ask your hobbyist friends what they think of the store's reliability when trouble has developed with a purchase. Make sure that you see whatever you want to buy work. Especially, see it do what you expect it to do. Never assume that it will do something because you were told it would, even by a good manufacturer. If you are ready to buy some equipment, it is best that you know someone who has it in operation; and be sure that you have a good understanding of the basics. All microcomputer systems are not compatible.

A fantastic new technology is developing very rapidly, with some obvious applications to clinical orthodontics. The more of us who become familiar with the system in its developmental phases, the sooner that it will be able to make a significant contribution to the advancement of our specialty .