By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Thinking Younger Make You Live Longer?
    April 20, 2011
    Image
    Obesity’s Outlook Unchanged
    June 13, 2011
    When It’s An Emergency Elderly Not Treated As Well in Hospitals
    July 16, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Technology, Healthcare and the Frankenstein Syndrome
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Technology > Medical Innovations > Technology, Healthcare and the Frankenstein Syndrome
Medical InnovationsTechnology

Technology, Healthcare and the Frankenstein Syndrome

John Nosta
Last updated: April 11, 2012 8:52 am
John Nosta
Share
7 Min Read
SHARE

Technology in life takes hold

Does Moore’s Law apply to advances in the biological sciences?  Will advances like artificial hips, cardiac pacemakers and spinal stimulators for pain be only the beginning of the realization of how humanity will be “re-engineered”” to take fuller and richer advantage of what science offers us?

Contents
Technology in life takes holdTechnology in life takes holdFor some, the future looks like this…For others, prospect of “implantable technologies” conger an image that might be more familiar, but more frighteningWhat emerges is The Frankenstein SyndromeBut technology isn’t the monster

Ray Kurzweil certainly thinks so.  So does the venture capital industry and many other thinkers, companies, physicians and patients. A quick trip to Wikipedia fills us in.

Technology in life takes hold

Does Moore’s Law apply to advances in the biological sciences?  Will advances like artificial hips, cardiac pacemakers and spinal stimulators for pain be only the beginning of the realization of how humanity will be “re-engineered”” to take fuller and richer advantage of what science offers us?

Ray Kurzweil certainly thinks so.  So does the venture capital industry and many other thinkers, companies, physicians and patients. A quick trip to Wikipedia fills us in.

More Read

New Technologies at Medtech Startups, October 2011
How to Track Cell Phone Radiation
Drug Delivery Treatments for Cancer Should be Fast-tracked
Crucial Steps to Safeguard Patient Privacy in the Digital Age
Social Threat Protection Now Critical for the Health Industry

 Kurzweil’s technological “singurlarity advances the idea that life is changing at a rate that will soon change the very notion of humanity Technological singularity refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means.  Since the capabilities of such intelligence would be difficult for an unaided human mind to comprehend, the occurrence of a technological singularity is seen as an intellectual event horizon, beyond which events cannot be predicted or understood. Proponents of the singularity typically state that an “intelligence explosion  is a key factor of the Singularity where superintelligences design successive generations of increasingly powerful minds.

For some, the future looks like this…

The prospect of replacing aging knees,  new electronic retinas and the electronic control of disease is the true promise of technology and they embrace this innovation with open arms.

For others, prospect of “implantable technologies” conger an image that might be more familiar, but more frightening

Simply stated, will the capacity of medical technology surpass the intellectual capacity of caregivers and patients to make the emotional leap embrace this change?

What emerges is The Frankenstein Syndrome

And Mashable, it a recent report, advances the “horror”:

Technophobes beware — the Eccerobot may be your worst nightmare. A team of scientists have created arobot inspired by the human build, so it can act more like living, breathing people

The Eccerobot team aims to create robots with bones and joints, making movements more rounded and not so robotic. The idea behind the project is that human capabilities stem from the intricacies of our skeletal and muscular systems.

The Eccerobot, having muscles and bones — forearm rotators and shoulder blades — will allow for complex movements. Copying the mechanics of our intricate bodies, the scientists helped relieve some of the limitations of robotic bodies.

Typical robots are built with standard engineering techniques with stiff parts. Their Eccerobot counterparts with muscles and tendons will be able to walk and move their arms with more speed and rhythm.

“You can use the passive compliance to make it absorb the energy in the right way to allow for safe interaction and to store energy in the muscles to produce fast movement,” explained Hugo Gravato Marques with the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in Switzerland, in a YouTube video.

The completed robot model now is a half-torso that sits on a mobile platform. It has arms with numerous parts that detect strain. Bones are made from a thermoplastic material that morphs into shape with heat. It can hold objects, shake hands and lift its arm smoothly

Other parts include high-speed, high-definition cameras for eyes. For ears, the robot is equipped with an audio-detection system that allows for voice commences. Thinking touch sensory is impossible for robots? Not quite — the researchers have even equipped the Eccerobot with “force-sensitive-resistors” on its fingertips and palms.

The creators of the Eccerobot include the University of Sussex, the Artificial Intelligence Lab of the University of Zurich and the University of Belgrade.

The next step is to improve the robot’s movement, interaction and controlled manipulation. The scientists believe that this will pave way for a new era in robotics, according to Eccerobot.com.

Perhaps the reality is that we two curves to consider.  The first is the rapid–almost exponential–growth in technology and solutions to health.  The “Fantastic Journey” that many watched as a science fiction movie, establishes a real blueprint for today’s practice of medicine.  The implantation, injection and ingestion of technology makes us well…and makes us…bionic, to use another word that is a throwback to a  TV show’s of yesterday.

The second curve might even be more complicated than the technology itself–the human mind.  The capacity for our emotional thinking to change and adoption is real, but often slow.  Issues such as fear, ignorance, superstition and cultural biases drive action in ways that defy logic.   And add health and illness to this issue and emotion often leads the way.  The sick, those in pain, those who care for loved ones who are ill are all subject to emotional drivers that complicate the decision process.  What’s left is the profound element of the self. The me.  The humanity that, after all, defines us.

But technology isn’t the monster

The reality is that Frankenstein is a myth.  But some medical technology still exist in this context.  And in the final analysis, the monster is the myth itself. Innovation is path forward. However, that path may be obstructed by our fears and ignorance.  It’s time that the technology we embrace and hold in our hands (yep, your smart phone) becomes the mainstream reality of clinical care.  Yet the paths of innovation and emotional adoption may keep these two apart. Only time will tell…

 

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

mobile app regulation
BusinesseHealthMedical InnovationsMobile HealthPolicy & LawTechnology

Five Tips for Folding FDA’s New Medical App Oversight into Your Business Strategy

March 31, 2014

J and J DePuy Hip Recall Methodologies Touching on Patient Privacy

August 22, 2011
eHealthTechnology

IoT In Action: Reality, Promises, And Challenges In Healthcare

March 6, 2019
Steve Jobs while presenting the iPad in San Fr...
Medical RecordsTechnology

EMR Designers: Borrow From the Titans of Technology

January 30, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?