It has been shown that summarizing complex multichannel physiological and discrete data
in natural language (text) can lead to better decision-making in the intensive care unit (ICU).
As part of the BabyTalk project, we describe a prototype system (BT-45) which can generate
such textual summaries automatically. Although these summaries are not yet as good as
those generated by human experts, we have demonstrated experimentally that they lead to
as good decision-making as can be achieved through presenting the same data graphically.

As ICUs generate increasing amounts of information, writing medical reports involves
complex time-consuming reasoning to build a coherent text which will be meaningful to
those who will use it for decision making (eg: for nurse handover). Moreover, it has been
shown that summarizing complex multi-channel physiological and discrete data in natural
language (text) can lead to better decision-making in the intensive care unit (ICU). To
facilitate this summarisation, as part of the BabyTalk project, we have developed a system …