Star Wars Day: May the 4th be with you!

May 4 is called Star Wars Day (also sometimes known as Luke Skywalker Day) because of the popularity of a common pun spoken on this day. Since the phrase "May the Force be with you" is a famous quote often spoken in the Star Wars films, fans commonly say "May the fourth be with you" on this day.

The Luke Arm

If you're a Star Wars fan, you'll know that Luke Skywalker gets a prosthetic hand/arm in the Empire Strikes Back. Of course, we know that he wasn't the first Star Wars character to require prosthetic limbs. His father (Anakin Skywalker) ended up needing quite a few prosthetic limbs (one arm and two legs), but that's another story. Let's talk about the DEKA Arm.

Affectionately dubbed “Luke” (after Luke Skywalker), the robotic arm is a DARPA funded project intended to restore functionality for individuals with upper extremity amputations. The project is still in development, please check back for updates. This project is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the U.S. Army Research Office.  This information does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the government; no official endorsement should be inferred. 

When I was in high school, I was inspired to study biomedical engineering at MIT because I wanted to work on something like the Luke Arm. I made it to MIT and I ended up studying mechanical engineering, but I didn't pursue a career in robotics. Instead, I ended up in medical school and here I am blogging about the Luke Arm. In any case, I think the DEKA Arm is a great project and I'm eager to see how this project unfolds.

Robots in hospitals improving patient safety

I love robots. R2-D2 from Star Wars is my favorite robot. When I retire someday, I'm planning on building a full-size R2-D2 that will move around my house and fetch me my slippers.

We're seeing more robots in the hospitals. Most of these won't be roaming the halls (except for the slow robot that delivers the mail), but quite a few are being used to dispense medications and to perform other tasks in the inpatient setting. A few months ago, Forbes had an article titled, "R2-D2 Has Your Pills." They mentioned how the Robot-Rx (medication-dispensing robot made by McKesson) is being used in a John Muir hospital to reduce medical errors related to drug dispensing. According to that article:

McKesson has installed 400 medicine-dispensing robots at hospitals around the country. They cost between $750,00 and $1 million. McKesson builds the robots at a factory in Pittsburgh, PA. 

Speaking of robots, I'm still waiting to see some iRobot Roomba and Scooba robots in the hospitals. They're great for floor cleaning. Speaking of iRobot, did you know that several members of the management team and Board Members are MIT graduates? No surprise, is it? Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like had I pursued a career in robotics and biomechanical engineering.

If I Could Go Through Life Again

If I could go through life again, I think I'd like to pursue a career in Aerospace Medicine. What is Aerospace Medicine?

According to the American Board of Preventive Medicine, "Aerospace medicine focuses on the clinical care, research, and operational support of the health, safety, and performance of crewmembers and passengers of air and space vehicles, together with the support personnel who assist operation of such vehicles. This population often works and lives in remote, isolated, extreme, or enclosed environments under conditions of physical and psychological stress. Practitioners strive for an optimal human-machine match in occupational settings rich with environmental hazards and engineering countermeasures."

Kids often grow up with lofty dreams. I always wanted to be an astronaut or a fighter jet pilot (yes, you can blame those dreams and ambitions on my love for Star Wars and science fiction). However, my dreams shifted towards biomedical engineering as I got older and those dreams of space travel faded away. Now, as I look back on life, I wonder what life would have been like if I had pursued aerospace medicine. Preventive medicine is not a specialty that is emphasized very much in most medical schools. In fact, I still meet many medical students who are not familiar with this specialty. They have no idea that you can do a residency that also includes the completion of an MPH degree.