Patient monitoring alarms in the ICU and in the operating room

Historically, the word ‘alarm’ originates from the Latin, ‘ad arma’, or the French, ‘a l’arme’, which can be translated into ‘to your weapons’. Hence, the word indicates a call for immediate action, for attack or for defense. Alarms have existed ever since humans have lived in groups. Some of the first documented alarms are watchmen on towers in the Middle Ages, who warned of fires or enemies by ringing bells. Warning fires provided a visual alert to enemy attacks, visible across long ranges and enabling an early reaction of armed forces. Today, comparable systems are available that send warning-SMSs (Short Message Service) of nearing tsunamis to mobile phones [1].