Michio Kaku, PhD, describes a world, in the not too distant future, where the stuff of today’s science fiction becomes reality.
The interventional cardiologists attending TCT 2011 were treated to a trip into the future during the meeting’s keynote lecture, “The Future of Humankind,” delivered by the noted quantum physicist and futurist. Dr. Kaku is currently the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Through descriptions and videos, Dr. Kaku provided TCT attendees with a glimpse into what he believes medicine will evolve into over the next several decades based on current trends in research, software and intelligence systems.
Michio Kaku, PhD, describes a world, in the not too distant future, where the stuff of today’s science fiction becomes reality.
The interventional cardiologists attending TCT 2011 were treated to a trip into the future during the meeting’s keynote lecture, “The Future of Humankind,” delivered by the noted quantum physicist and futurist. Dr. Kaku is currently the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Through descriptions and videos, Dr. Kaku provided TCT attendees with a glimpse into what he believes medicine will evolve into over the next several decades based on current trends in research, software and intelligence systems.
A Very Different World
In his presentation, Dr. Kaku likened the diagnostic tools of the future to the “tricorder” device seen on “Star Trek,” which is a representation of a multifunctional device used to scan body systems and record that information for patient treatment.
“When you first saw the tricorder on TV, you probably laughed and said ‘ha, impossible.’ But the tricorder does not violate the laws of physics,” Dr. Kaku said. He went on to add that the systematic miniaturization of imaging equipment could very well yield MRIs that are the size of the average cell phone today.
Dr. Kaku described a world, maybe 50 years in the future, where people will reside in “intelligent houses” where sensors monitor body and mental functions to facilitate health.
In the future, Dr. Kaku said, “your bathroom will have more computer power than a modern university hospital.” He said the cost of computer chips will dramatically drop to about a penny, making them cheap and easily placed in areas like mirrors and toilets, to monitor for cancer or other health issues before they become problematic.
“It is possible that the sensors that will be located in your home could change the way we deliver medical care,” Dr. Kaku said. The down side to that, he added, is that “you’ll have no secrets.” In a video, Dr. Kaku showed an example of a man who had too much to drink the night before, and the information about that alcohol use was downloaded directly to his insurance carrier. On the upside, he said, for those that do drink too much, tissue engineering will likely make it easier than ever to get new livers and other organs that people must wait years for today.
Dr. Kaku added that it is likely that nanoparticles will enable patients to take pills that will act like “smart bombs” in the body, systematically eradicating cancer cells and possibly viruses. He said he envisions a time when surgeons will not actually touch their patients, but rather conduct surgery virtually, while robotic equipment simultaneously carries out the actions, similar to the avatars used in today’s popular gaming systems. While the surgery is ongoing, Dr. Kaku said it is possible that the surgeon would be wearing glasses or contact lenses, which are continually being updated with the patient’s vitals and other relevant information. He said this type of “augmented reality” will have broad-reaching implications, from how people communicate with each other — such as having a translating microphone perched on your glasses during a foreign film — to how wars will be fought.
