Doctor McCoy. Doctor Crusher. Doctor Pulaski (remember her?). Doctor Bashir. The Doctor (a.k.a. the Emergency Medical Hologram). Dr. Phlox. And what about Nurse Chapel? Kes? The tricorder? The miracle kidney-curing pill? The Star Trek series and movies paint a future of health care that is inspirational and visionary—but also notable in what it is lacking. Join health care professionals to talk about what Trek got right about the future of health care, what health care advances were inspired by Trek—and how Trek could learn a little bit from real health care providers.

1. I’m a Doctor, D*mn it!
Trek and the Future of Healthcare
#TrekHealth
Toner, BE, Dilmore K, Edgar A, Zatzkin W. “I’m a Doctor, D*am
it!: Trek and the Future of Healthcare.” Presented September 4,
2016 and Star Trek Mission: New York. New York City, NY.

2. Meet the panelists
• Kevin Dilmore (@KevinDilmore): author of more than a dozen Star
Trek fiction novels/stories and knower of all things Star Trek
• Whitney Bowman-Zatzkin (@MsWZ): healthcare’s most passionate
community architect, NASATweetup & Space Camp alum
• Beth Toner (@BethTonerRN): nurse, writer, and self-proclaimed Trek
super-fan
#TrekHealth
Special gratitude to Amy Edgar (@ProfAmyE), nurse practitioner extraordinaire and
intended panelist today, for her research and contributions to this presentation.

3. We asked ourselves
two questions:
Has Star Trek (in all its incarnations)
influenced health care?
Will the future of health care really look like it
does on Star Trek (in all its incarnations)?

4. The answer:
YES…
…And NO.

5. Some caveats
• Yes, we believe in the whole healthcare team, not just those in Star
Trek. You will notice none of us are medical doctors. None of us are
military officers either.
• Yes, we know health care works a little differently in a paramilitary
(military?) organization like Starfleet. (Or at least we hope it does.)
• Yes, we love medical doctors from Star Trek, all of them. (Although
some of us still think Dr. Pulaski is irritating.)
• This won’t be an exhaustive compilation.
• Yes, we know this is just a TV show/movie. (Or at least accept that
reality…for now.)

6. The face that
launched 1000
memes

7. And five more doctors…

8. Whitney
What did Star Trek inspire in healthcare and health-related life today and what is
yet to be?

9. Tricorder
Hand-held, non-invasive diagnostic tools
• NASA uses LOCAD to find microorganisms on ISS
• Portable ultrasound
• Portable blood flow monitoring, cancer screening, bacterial
infection, and diabetes testing
• MRI-like device for infectious bacteria monitoring in humans
• Remote human monitoring (weight, BP, heart, sleep)
• And then there’s the slightly uncomfortable moment with a guy
from DARPA in 2011
Not the X-Prize

10. Clinical Care Delivery
Presently in use:
• Communicator badges – Vocera has one
• Hypospray – Predated Star Trek, “jet injection”
presently deliver vaccinations (MIT, 2012)
• Sickbay – McCoy-inspired diagnostic bed
• Geordi’s Visor - Stanford team created bionic
eye using the same concept
• “Universal” Translator devices – Google
translate
• Bio-patch universe of bone-growing,
monitoring, and medication delivery
We’re getting there

11. Hands-free in Healthcare
Invented and expanding use:
• “Computer” - Amazon Echo, Siri, Google Assistant
even had the codename “Majel” for Majel Barrett-
Roddenberry (wife, Nurse Chapel, computer voice,
first lady of Star Trek)
• Remote/Tele-surgery and consultation
• Hands-free medical records/labs review (not just
for Blitzer)
One day, we WILL get to rename Alexa to “Computer”

12. Telepresence to AI devices
Robotic telepresence
• ATLAS and BRAIN initiative
• Robonaut
• TED Talk challenge (2014 X-prize)
• Cisco TelePresence
• Tablets
• QuickTime and digital music (TNG-inspired Apple’s
Perlman)
• Watson – AI diagnostician?
Be in the room where it happens without BEING in the room!

13. What’s next?
A few Trek-linked things on the horizon for adoption:
• FAA certification of space tourism and flight “readiness” (a
new take on Space Camp)
• “Replicator” hack - 3D printing (currently works for broken
bone repair, what about hearts? Tissue, antidote viruses,
medications, what’s next?)
• Artificial limb development for amputees and senior
mobility solutions (ATLAS)
Gossip from around the office H2O replicator

14. Beth
Will the future of healthcare really look like it does on Star Trek?

15. The Nurse
The first person, last person, and person in between visits that everyone knows best when
dealing with an evaluation of their health and wellbeing.
Nurses in Star Trek? Let’s take a look…

16. I’m a nurse
Starfleet Academy obviously didn’t know that

17. I love Nurse Chapel
too…
… but this isn’t what nurses do.

18. This isn’t what
nurses do, either

19. And in the most
recent incarnation…
Nurse Chapel was actually invisible

20. Then, there’s Kes
Not quite a doctor (but they would
never call her a nurse)

21. The Doctor
Is always the hero
and the commanding officer
and the researcher
and the scientist
and…

22. They got her right!
I’d work alongside Alyssa Ogawa any day!

23. Tough Stuff
Star Trek hasn’t been afraid to tackle tough
subjects:
• End of life care
• Assisted suicide
• Cultural competency
• Chronic diseases
• Genetic/inherited traits and disease states
• Patient-centered care

24. Remember this one?
Coming out of illness, Spock asked the nurse to slap him to shake it off. She
attempted, lightly slapping him. An attending came over, slapped Spock hard
across the face and Spock was out of the hazy state and ready to respond.
Sometimes, we have to listen to what the patient wants, even if it isn’t what we,
as the clinician, would want.

25. The Holistic Approach

26. Holistic Care: What went right on Star
Trek
Star Trek also demonstrated a level of healthcare integration rarely seen in the
U.S.
• Mental wellness is recognized as impacting physical wellness
• Care practitioners knew their patients well and provided individualized care
plans and assessment
• Excellent models for triage and field first aid
• Demonstrated clinicians continued commitment to understand WHY to do a
procedure, not just how (and learning the old and new techniques – like
cauterization via laser and via heated metal object)
• Fluid and meal intake monitoring was important
• Infection control and isolation practice would match Florence Nightingale AND
your favorite Trek practitioner.
• Immediately managing an injury or illness allowed for successful repairs on the
ship

27. Holistic Care: What went wrong on Star
Trek
Star Trek also has some learning to do:
• Tremendous focus on territory of roles and titles due to the military-style chain
of command but we know the future of care delivery requires a multitude of
skilled providers (even AI/machines!)
• Prevention of disease (knowing future disease state markers) is key to mission
success, often skipped in long-trajectory Star Trek world.
• Prolonging life will be key to keeping humans healthy in space.

28. Looking to the future
Dreaming inside the Star Trek universe provokes questions as we consider the
future of health care:
• When we are no longer alone in the universe, what emotional support models
will need to be developed/included?
• How do we learn from other intelligent life about new methods for healing?

29. What does the exploration of health and healthcare in Trek mean
for those authoring the next adventure?
Kevin

30. #TrekHealth
Questions?

31. #TrekHealth
Thank you

32. Toner, BE, Dilmore K, Zatzkin W. “I’m a Doctor, D*am it!: Trek
and the Future of Healthcare.” Presented September 4, 2016
and Star Trek Mission: New York. New York City, NY.