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Five-Wire Resistive Touch Screen Technology Frank Shen, strategic market manager of medical products, Elo TouchSystems Touch screen systems simplify complex medical systems, reduce the chance of mistakes, and provide a more efficient data-entry mechanism than do other input devices. In fact, touch technology is gaining popularity in the healthcare field, where touch-operated medical products range from $300 handheld organizers to $3 million magnetic resonance imaging systems. Touch screens help medical professionals with the management of electronic patient records, medical inventory, lab records, and patient check-in and registration. The use of touch screen technology increases the productivity and efficiency of medical personnel while requiring minimal training. Although each technology has its strengths, five-wire resistive technology has proven to be the most popular because it delivers the accuracy, durability, and performance necessary in a medical environment. Touch technologies differ in the way a touch is detected. With scanning infrared systems, a touch is registered when a finger or stylus encounters an array of infrared beams. When a user's finger touches a surface-acoustic-wave touch screen, the screen absorbs the acoustic waves propagating on the touch surface. The controller electronics identify a touch by the drop in acoustic signal from the touch location. Capacitive technologies use the