Sometimes present technology stirs the imagination of a
writer to think about what might come from it; progress for humanity, horrible
nightmares, or further advances. And then there are the opposite cases, where
something from a writer’s mind spurs a revolution in real world technology – the old, “We
ought to be able to make one of those."
 |
|
This
is the first flight of the USS Enterprise. Actually, it
never
went to space. Notice that the bottom of the shuttle
doesn’t
have the thermal shield tiles, so it couldn’t
possibly
go to space – well, at least it couldn’t come back.
Enterprise
was scrapped for parts for subsequent shuttles.
|
The tricorder was a hand held monitoring device that could
record and analyze data on a number of subjects. Spock used it to scan for life
forms and geologic conditions, etc. Michael Jones, with Google, states that the
tricorder’s mapping function was one of the inspirations behind Google Earth.
Scotty used it to analyze materials and warp cores. What was
going on in the 1960’s that gave the idea to Gene Roddenberry that they could
have a hand held device that would analyze just about anything?
McCoy’s medical tricorder was used for diagnosing the
medical problems of the crew – except for the guy in the red shirt from the
landing party – all he got was, “He’s dead Jim.” Bones also had a diagnostic
bed that could be used in the sick bay. Sometimes on Next Generation they would use the tricorder while the patient was
in the diagnostic bed. Apparently the patient wanted a second opinion.
Now we have an impetus to construct a real tricorder, at least the medical version. QualComm has put up the money for the Tricorder X
Prize, worth a cool $10 million to the winning team in early 2016. This is just
in time for the Star Trek 50th anniversary – on purpose or happy
accident?
 |
|
Here’s
Bones with a tricorder from the original Star
Trek.
I have found episodes with everyone using the
device,
McCoy, Spock, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, Kirk, even
Uhura.
The gal in the back is Yeoman Rand, she used
the
tricorder a lot in the eight episodes in which she
made
an appearance.
|
The current medical term for what a medical tricorder does
is rapid medical assessment (RMA). RMA can be done by people as a method of triage in emergency departments, or by
device as a diagnostic/treatment mechanism. A 2015 paper discusses the use of
Mouthlab from Multisensor Diagnostics Company. This tool uses as disposable
mouthpiece and a handheld device to monitor several vital signs (heart rate, temperature, respiratory rate, blood oxygenation) at once. This
would then be a tricorder use for monitoring vitals and possibly biomarkers.
But the $10 million won’t come so easily; the hand held PET
scanner did just one thing and the Mouthlab only does vital signs. To win the
prize, the final tricorder must be able to diagnose at least 13 core health
conditions (anemia, atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD), diabetes, Hepatitis A, leukocytosis, pneumonia, otitis media, sleep
apnea, stroke, tuberculosis, urinary tract infection, as well as the absence of
those conditions), as well as three elective conditions (allergens, cholesterol
screen, food-borne illness, HIV screen, hypertension,
hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism, melanoma, mononucleosis, osteoporosis, Whooping
Cough, shingles, or strep throat).
Think about it, those conditions include metabolic
disorders, cancers, bacterial infections, viral infections, blood problems,
cardiac electrical problems and bone density issues.
 |
|
The
name tricorder comes from the fact that it
recorded
data and that it originally had three modes,
geologic,
meterologic, and biologic. So it could be used
for
many things. Here, Data uses it as a hand puppet
after
he receives his emotion chip.
|
The Star Trek medical tricorder didn’t touch your body, the salt
shaker, er…..probe, was waved across your body and you looked at the old time
tape recorder with the shoulder strap to see the results. We haven’t got there
yet, at least not for all tests. Today, most tests still require some sample
taken from the patient and then assessed in a laboratory for specific
characteristics.
Changes from normal chemistry, or the presence or absence
of some key molecule are then indications of certain disease states. Usually
there is a list of possible diseases (a differential diagnosis) and then
additional laboratory tests or diagnostic procedures (surgery, PET, MRI, etc)
are used to eliminate some possibilities and strengthen others.
Some tests we currently have don’t require touching the patient or
taking a sample, mostly imaging methods (X-ray, MRI, PET scan), but most
laboratory tests require something given by a patient (saliva, urine) or taken
from a patient (tissue, blood).
 |
|
This
is an old example of lab on a chip, although it is still
one
of the prettiest. This chip was used for DNA
sequencing.
Each channel had a final endpoint in which
the
reaction took place and was then read.
|
Microfluidics is
a whole field of research that is used to inform the designers how to get small
fluid samples to the areas and how small fluid volumes behave. It isn’t just
the biochemical or molecular tests that are challenging, it’s getting the sample to the test areas.
Once in the testing areas, then the chemistry can be run to produce products or
measure components of the sample.
The tricorder devices will have to have a way to measure the
results of the reactions or the properties of the fluid. How it gathers the
data is important and takes a lot of technology. UV/Visible spectroscopy looks for the absorbance of light rays
(colors or fluorescence); mass
spectroscopy identifies molecules by mass to charge ratio.
On the other hand, Raman Spectroscopy measures the unique vibrational and rotational
characteristics of specific molecules and ultra
thin layer chromatography separates molecules based on solubility and mass.
Each of these technologies usually requires desk-sized pieces of equipment; the
winning device might use any or all of these measurement techniques. This makes the weight requirement of
five pound max a little tougher to achieve.
 |
|
This
is a schematic which shows UV or visible light
spectroscopy.
With UV you can measure DNA, RNA, or
fluorescence
With visible light, you can measure the
intensity
of colors. Each can give information about
how
much of a certain compound is there.
|
The sample components or reaction measurements will be made
and their amounts will be assessed relative to the total sample. Those values,
along with vital functions data will be assessed by the machine and a diagnosis
will be rendered.
The goal is to have consumers use the product themselves,
without need for medical professionals or extensive medical knowledge.
Therefore, the workings of the machine must be self-contained and
self-diagnosing, and the analysis must come down to specific, but easily
understandable results. Not easy for a device that may use some very high tech
mechanisms. Of course, there’s nothing saying that the finalists must use lab on a
chip technology – it could be something completely new.
Good luck to all the ten finalists. You can learn about their projects here. Next week, we take a look at warp drive. Is it possible to use
antimatter or plasma for travel? And what about that speed of light thing?
Contributed by Mark E. Lasbury, MS, MSEd, PhD
No comments:
Post a Comment