This paper presents the development of an application for capturing an image of numeric displays, recognizing the digits contained therein and transferring them to an automation system that manages metrological performance tests on different types of medical equipment. Using a webcam and the Delphi® development tool, an algorithm was created based on segmentation of the digits and counting of the points contained in each segment. This counting results in a numerical set, a kind of signature of the digit. The software has the phases of training and recognition, as well as an evaluation mode. Three tests were applied to evaluate the performance of the application. At first, ten thousand different values were generated and recognized using three webcams of different manufacturers. In the second, using three different equipments, there was the recognition of 100 different readings and the hit rate verified by visual comparison. In the third, the application was set for recognizing the temperature indicated on the display of a neonatal incubator and controlled through the communication interface between applications, by a prototype version of a management system of medical equipment assays. Tests conducted in the first way resulted in a hit rate of 100% for two webcams and 99.96% for a third. In other tests the hit rate was 100%, demonstrating that the application is feasible and safe.272110115Alegria, F.C., Serra, A.C., Computer vision applied to the automatic calibration of measuring instruments (2000) Measurement, 28, pp. 185-195. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0263-2241(00)00011-7Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (2007) Dispõe Sobre a Certificação Compulsória Dos Equipamentos Elétricos Sob Regime De Vigilância Sanitária E Dá Outras Providências, , Brasil, Resolução RDC no 32, de 29 de maio de 2007, Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil, Poder Executivo, Brasília, DF, 01 junFigueiredo, J.A.F., (2008) Inovação E Desempenho De Equipamentos Médicos - Estudo Qualitativo Em Hospitais Portugueses [tese], , Minho: Universidade de MinhoFitzgibbon, D.R., Posner, K.L., Domino, K.B., Capplan, R.A., Lee, L.A., Cheney, F.W., Chronic pain management: American Society of Anesthesiologists Closed Claims Project (2004) Anesthesiology, 100 (1), pp. 98-105. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00000542-200401000-00018Foiatto, N., Roehe, J.M.L., Sistema automatizado de calibração para medidores digitais a partir da captura de imagens e interface de comunicação GPIB (IEEE 488) (2006) Congresso E Feira De Qualidade Em Metrologia - ENQUALAB: Anais Do Congresso E Feira De Qualidade Em Metrologia, , 2006 mai 30-01São Paulo, Brasil. São Paulo: REMESPGarg, A., Wadhwa, M., Brown, K., Luckett, C., Vaughn, T., Birgersdotter-Green, U., Feld, G., Inappropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator discharge from sensing of external alternating current leak (2002) Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology, 7 (2), pp. 181-184. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1020846007149Gourvest, H., Nevhasymyy, A., Offenwanger, M., Mitrovic, M., Steffensen, M., (2010) The DSPack Project [Internet], , http://www.progdigy.com/?page_id=4Kaczmarek, R.G., Beaulieu, M.D., Kessler, L.G., Medical device tracking: Results of a case study of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (2000) American Journal of Cardiology, 85 (5), pp. 588-592. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9149(99)00816-4Leite, H.J.D., Silva, H.A.N., Alexandrino, J.C., Esfigmomanômetros: Quais as condições após sete anos de publicação do regulamento metrológico (2004) Congresso Latino Americano De Engenharia Biomédica- IFMBE: Anais Do III Congresso Latino Americano De Engenharia Biomédica, 5 (1), pp. 983-986. , 2004 set 22-25João Pessoa, Brasil. IFMBELima, D.A., Pereira, G.A.S., Vasconcelos, F.H., A computer vision system to read meter displays IMEKO Symposium: Proceedings of the 16th IMEKO Symposium [Internet], , http://www.imeko.org/publications/tc4-2008/imeko-tc4-2008-122.pdf, 2008Florence. [cited: 2010 Jul 9]Miranda, I.C.S., Pedroso, J.C.L., Amaral, J.L.G., Brito, L.C., Calil, S.J., Electrical safety performance assessment of medical electrical equipment used in the practice of anesthesia (2002) Raising the Profile of Clinical Engineering: Proceedings of the Raising the Profile of Clinical Engineering, p. 22. , 2002 May 17Dublin, Ireland. York. Institute of Physics and Engineering in MedicinePlataniotis, K.N., Venetsanopoulos, A.N., Color Image Processing and Applications (Digital Image Processing) [Internet], , http://www.dsp.utoronto.ca/~kostas/Publications2008/pub/bookchapters/2000-SpringerMonograph.pdf, Berlin: Springer2000 [acess 2011 Aug 05]Sahoo, P.K., Soltani, S., Wong, A.K.C., A survey of thresholding techniques (1988) Computer Vision, Graphics, and Image Processing, 41 (2), pp. 233-260. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0734-189X(88)90022-9