Summarising complex ICU data in natural language.

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). 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.