Medical Equipment

The following is a list of medical equipment in use on a typical 24th-century Federation starship. The list is not inclusive, and is adapted from The Star Trek Encyclopedia by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda and the Daystrom Institute of Technology Library.

Autosuture

A device used for closures of relatively mild wounds to the skin and underlying tissues. It can be used to close incisions or to heal minor injuries.

Biobed

More than just a simple bed for the patient to lie on, the biobed is designed to provide the medical staff with a wide range of information about the patient, such as heart rate, respiration, temperature, etc. This information is usually displayed on a panel at the head of the biobed, although the bed can be set up to give auditory information as well. Alarms are given should any of the monitored bodily systems fall out of a pre-set "normal" range.

Cortical Stimulator

Instrument used to revitalize neural activity in a humanoid nervous system. A small device which is attached to the cranium, it is used on patients who have reduced or damaged brain-wave patterns. A pair of stimulators has been used, on occasion, to return a patient's bio-neural energy to his body.

Dermal Regenerator

Hand-held instrument used to repair damaged epidermal tissue, such as bruising and lacerations.

Defibrillator

A device used to restore normal sinus rhythm to a patient's heart after it has gone into cardiac arrhythmia. It consists of a hand-held device which is held over the patient's heart, in direct contact with the skin, whereupon a computer-controlled shock is delivered to the heart.

Gentronic Replicator

An advanced medical system, created by Dr. Toby Russell, which can be used to scan damaged organs on a quantum level and replicate living organs for transplantation into the patient. On three separate occasions, the Federation refused Dr. Russell permission to test the device on a living patient, on the grounds that unacceptable risks were involved with the procedure. However, in 2368 she used the device to create a new spine for Lt. Worf. While the procedure was successful, Worf died on the operating table. His Klingon physiology allowed him to be revived, and created a new spine for him. Permission for further use of the device is still pending.

Hypospray

This is used for subcutaneous and intramuscular administration of medication for many humanoid patients. It uses an extremely fine, high-pressure aerosuspension delivery system, eliminating the need for a needle to physically penetrate the skin. It consists of a spray head attached to a swappable vial which contains the drug to be administered. The device can be used repeatedly and on multiple patients, as the skin is not broken and there is no contamination of the hypospray tip. It is also completely painless.

Laser Scalpel

One of the simplest instruments used in a modern medical facility, the device uses a laser beam rather than a knife to physically cut the patient. This allows a greater degree of control over the instrument, and by eliminating physical contact between the device and the patient greatly reduces the risk of transmitting infections.

Neural Calipers

Instrument used in the preparation for surgical procedures, to cause the patient to lose consciousness.

Physiostimulator

Typically a small hand-held device, the physiostimulator is used to elevate metabolic functions in an impaired individual.

Subdermal Scalpel

Used for making incisions beneath the skin, without actually penetrating the skin itself. By allowing purely internal surgery to be performed, it greatly reduces the risk of infection, and reduces the need for instruments such as dermal regenerators during surgery.