Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

Health Kiosk Has No Human Doctor

This health kiosk in China is animated by AI: it can scan your vital signs, do a variety of basic tests and diagnose common illnesses.

Science fiction fans should remember the electronic body analyzer from The Andromeda Strain (1969) by Michael Crichton:

Hall entered a booth and closed the door behind him. There was a couch, and a mass of complex equipment. In front of the couch was a television screen, which showed several lighted points.

"Sit down," said a flat mechanical voice. "Sit down. Sit down."

He sat on the couch.

"Observe the screen before you. Place your body on the couch so that all points are obliterated."

He looked at the screen. He now saw that the points were arranged in the shape of a man...

...the electronic body analyzer had been developed by Sandeman Industries in 1965, under a general government contract to produce body monitors for astronauts in space. It was understood by the government at that time that such a device, though expensive at a cost of $87,000 each, would eventually replace the human physician as a diagnostic instrument.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/23/2026)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Medical ")

3D Printed Organs From Space
'For a while your colonists will have to come up to the [orbital] Hospital...'

Health Kiosk Has No Human Doctor
'The electronic body analyzer had been developed...' - Michael Crichton, 1969.

NEO Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
'The remains of the lace took on the rough shape of a brain...' - Iain Banks, 2010.

MIT Computerized Bionic Leg Is Part Of The User
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain, through the mediation of the electronic brain in the leg.' - Charles Recour, 1949.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Warfare Goes Underground In Ukraine
'Once in the very first weeks of the war, before everyone had been evacuated from the surface...'

3D Printed Organs From Space
'For a while your colonists will have to come up to the [orbital] Hospital...'

Robot Bees 3D Printed By Festo
'At first I was struck by the large size of these bees..'

DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'

How To Settle An Argument Between Two Robots
'Henry... assumed the curious absent look of a robot talking on the TBR circuits.'

The Wind Phone Calls Those Who Have Passed On
'Only I heard that!'

Don't Want To Wear A TIght Shiny Bodysuit?
'He looked a good bit like an elderly, fat beetle.'

Light Society: Simulates Earth-Scale Society With A Billion AI Agents
'The king, an old hand in the running of tyrannies, instantly grasped the directions...'

Satyress Centaur Robot Horror Reminds Everyone Of Something
'Fess was very dutiful'

When Colds Threaten You Can't Do This - Or Can You?
'...a hemispherical force field enclosing his head.'

Beautiful Visualization of Dawn Spacecraft
'Then he became aware of a gentle pressure pushing him away from the ship.'

Biological War: A Scenario
'And now they wre busily transforming all their companions, and so on, and so on...'

Pole-Dancing Stripperbot Robot
'Why, a clockwork dancer, or, better still, one that would go by electricity and never run down...'

Collective Superintelligence Is At Hand!
'Maybe the individual intelligence of each Cubic pools into a group intelligence...'

Instant Journalists: Ordinary People With Cell Phones
'We'll show them whose planet this is!'

Health Kiosk Has No Human Doctor
'The electronic body analyzer had been developed...'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.