OBUS: a microcomputer system for measurement, calculation, reporting, and retrieval of obstetric ultrasound examinations.

A computer system called OBUS is described. This system is helpful in many ways in obstetric sonography: measurement of fetal parameters, calculation of gestational age and weight from measurements as well as from clinical dates, assessment of fetal growth, generation of examination reports, patient file management, and retrieval of reports. The time-consuming nature of these tasks, the reliance on quantitation, and the stylized, yet detailed nature of the reports make them particularly suited for automation. The system has been accepted by ultrasonographers performing approximately 40 obstetric examinations a day. Because of its ease of use, manpower savings, and low cost, OBUS has proved to be highly cost-effective.