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
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"[Science fiction is ] That branch of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance upon human beings."
- Isaac Asimov
 |
| Medical Mantis | ||
| A medical telefactoring device; allows a physician to remotely examine patients and perform procedures. |
Telefactor devices are beginning to appear in the practice of medicine. The medical mantis provides a well-written glimpse at something we may all encounter someday.
| There's this praying mantis a meter long, all black with chrome trim, hanging upside down from the ceiling of the Medical cubby. ..it hovers over his face, jointed arms clicking and dipping like crazy articulated chopsticks... The mantis stops in midmotion, its antennae quivering... "Hello, er-Gerry, isn't it?" it says at last. "I'm Dr. Troyka." Fischer remembers: the medical equipment can't always do everything on its own. Sometimes, when things get too complicated, it calls up the line to a human backup. "Wow," says the mantis. "What happened to you?" |
| Technovelgy from Starfish,
by Peter Watts. Published by Tor Books in 1999 Additional resources -
|
This sequence is great fun in the novel. It hints a little at the paranoid mindset of some of the characters.
In the real world, a variety of devices have appeared to assist physician's in the performance of their duties. For example, RoboDoc Robotic Surgical Assistant from Integrated Surgical Systems has been providing assistance to physicians doing hip replacement surgery since 1992. The device
"... mills a cavity in the femur for the placement of a prosthetic implant. The system is designed to accurately shape the cavity for a precise fit and precise positioning of the implants in the cavity for optimum biomechanics."
For the first reference (anywhere! as far as I know) to a machine that would allow a physician to examine a patient at a distance, see the telemedicine apparatus from E.M. Forster's The Machine Stops, published in 1909.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Starfish
More Ideas
and Technology by Peter Watts
Tech news articles related to Starfish
Tech news articles related to works by Peter Watts
Medical Mantis-related
news articles:
- da Vinci Surgical Robot: Dr.'s Helper
- InTouch Companion: Medical Rounding Robot
- NEEMO 7 - NASA Undersea Robotic Telemedicine Experiment
| Bone-Building Drug Evenity Approved |
| BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed |
| Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System |
| Brain Implant Is Able To Capture Your Inner Dialogue |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
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 Science Fiction 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
'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.'
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...'
'The German chemists have discovered how to supply the needed elements in compact, undiluted form...'
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...'
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...'
