A patient monitor displays numbers, units, waveforms, colours, icons and alarm information at the same time. The purpose is to help the user understand the patient's current monitoring status quickly.

Start with the parameter name and unit. HR or PR normally refers to heart rate or pulse rate, SpO2 to oxygen saturation, NIBP to non-invasive blood pressure, RESP or RR to respiration rate, and TEMP to temperature. Similar numbers may come from different signal sources, so the label and unit should be read together.

Next, review the waveform and signal quality. The ECG waveform represents the electrical signal from the heart. The SpO2 pleth waveform helps show whether the pulse signal is stable. The respiration waveform displays respiratory changes. If a waveform is irregular, interrupted or absent, the reliability of the displayed number should be reconsidered.

Status icons also matter. A lead-off condition, disconnected sensor, low battery, paused alarm or network status may be shown with an icon. Looking only at the numbers can hide an important technical condition.

Finally, use the trend. FDA information on pulse oximetry notes that a change in readings over time may be more meaningful than one isolated value. In continuous monitoring, trends and event records help users understand the direction, speed and duration of a change.

Colour can improve recognition, but different brands should not be assumed to use identical colour rules. Users must follow the instructions and training for the specific device. For a brand owner, GUI development should consider information hierarchy, font readability, waveform density, alarm priority, multilingual text length, touch target size and low-light use.

JONSEN's platform supports GUI, start-up logo, brand name and interface customization through an ODM project. Useful customization is not decoration. It keeps the interface, parameters and workflow consistent.