Feasibility of GNU/Linux as the OS for a PC-based medical product

Linux has become a viable alternative to Windows in recent years. This investigation looks at the feasibility of porting the software for a PC-based medical device to Linux. Using an open-source operating system frees developers from the constraints imposed by relying on a single company for the development platform. Several porting methods are considered. The port method chosen allows development on the Windows version to continue while simultaneously testing on Linux, without creating separate versions of the software. Differences in the way the software interacts with the operating system and with the hardware have to be addressed. A Linux environment was created in which to run the software and determine how to reconcile these differences. No major hurdles to using Linux exist, so it appears to be a viable platform on which to conduct future development.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2003

Author dc:creator

• Lustbader, Steven B. (Steven Benjamin), 1980-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bob Desmarias and Barbara Liskov.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/16979

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/16979