The paper describes an automatic system for conducting the case history interview, a necessary part of an eye examination. Questions are asked of the patient over a loudspeaker from a pre-recorded audio magnetic tape, played on a random-access tape deck controlled by a small, general-purpose digital computer. The patient responds to these questions through one of three pushbuttons labeled YES, DOUBTFUL, and NO. Hardware and software design is presented in detail, together with results of clinical trials employing a total of 80 patients. Results show reliable identification of primary and secondary complaints, the latter being found more reliably than in normal interviews of the same patients.