Biomedical instrumentation is one application where embedded processing is increasingly important.
In this article, we explore the relationship between embedded processing and the more familiar desktop computer architectures. Computer architectures describe the framework for instruments and computers just as an architecture defines the structure of an organism, skyscraper or bridge. Different architectures possess different utilities as well as limitations. The computer architecture that is best for desktop word processing and financial analysis in general will not be optimal for mathematical simulation, data communication or process control. Desktop personal computers have become so ubiquitous that they have tended to eclipse other types of computers in the public consciousness.