data acquisition system (DAS), 1. (in radiology) a radiation detection system that measures the amount of radiation passing through a patient. In computed tomography, the system also converts analog signals to digital data that can be analyzed by a computer. 2. (in computer processing) a collection of software and hardware that allows the measurement or control of physical characteristics of something in the real world. It involves the converting of samples into digital numeric values that can be manipulated by a computer.
