CT Only: Medi-Comp

[Supplement Four]

Here's another idea from Hammer's Slammers that I thought would work well with Traveller.

A Medi-Comp is a portable computer that communicates way, say, the diagnostic computer in sickbay on the ship.

I would think it would require Medical-1 to use. Maybe you could get away with Medical-0 (but that's not a standard default skill, anyway).

The Medi-Comp suggests treatment. I picture it akin to a doctor standing next to a nurse, telling the nurse what to do.

Mechanics-wise, maybe this is a positive modifier to any Medical roll? But since CT doesn't use Medic rolls (it just requires them for healing), then maybe the Medi-Comp can cut down on the healing time or be used for more severe wounds.

I'm not exactly sure how it works or how to implement it in a game. I would need to think harder on that.

But, I like the idea of PCs being kept alive this way--revived from unconsciousness, and such.

 

[Hyphen]

MediKit for CT: from RAPP, Donald P., _Merchants and Merchandise_, Paranoia Press, Indiana, USA, 1981, p 13.

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Gallery/index.php?n=2753

 

[Supplement Four]

MediKit for CT: from RAPP, Donald P., _Merchants and Merchandise_, Paranoia Press, Indiana, USA, 1981, p 13.

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Gallery/index.php?n=2753

Nice, David.

I'm thinking that the Medi-Comp would be a little different in several ways.

1. TL may be lower for the Medi-Comp. That AIR MediKit is TL 12. The Medi-Comp could be available at several TLs below that, I would think.


2. That AIR MediKit is self contained. The Medi-Comp is not. It requires communication with a larger medical computer, such as at a hospital, a merc field station, or the PC's ship. There would be a range associated with it.

3. The AIR MediKit can only be used for first aid. The Medi-Comp could be used for other, more serious ailments. It is a diagnostic machine that recommends treatment.


4. Since the Medi-Comp instructs about treatment, it takes some skill to apply the medicines. Medical-1 required. The AIR MediKit is self contained and it injects patients with drugs by itself. No skill required.


5. With the Medi-Comp, the character using it would have to have a medical bag of drugs, splints, bandages, and the sort. It instructs the character on what to use, and how to use those things on the patient. The AIR MediKit does it all by itself.



I think there's room for both devices in the Traveller universe.

 

[whartung]

I would think it would require Medical-1 to use. Maybe you could get away with Medical-0 (but that's not a standard default skill, anyway).

It may take medical skill to interpret the data, but it shouldn't require medical skill to use it.

Much like the modern automatic defibrillators. Big, cartoon picture of what goes where and a "GO" button.

A medi comp should be usable by a Class 1 Grunt infantryman, under stress, in combat, and have a reasonable chance for success in reporting vital information.

 

[Supplement Four]

It may take medical skill to interpret the data, but it shouldn't require medical skill to use it.

Yes, I was thinking that skill would be required to know what the machine was talking about.

Much like the modern automatic defibrillators. Big, cartoon picture of what goes where and a "GO" button.

A medi comp should be usable by a Class 1 Grunt infantryman, under stress, in combat, and have a reasonable chance for success in reporting vital information.

I was thinking a little more sophisticated than that. Medical-1 skill required, and the device is quick aid to a Medic, not a bandage that everybody can use.

Just my two credits.

 

[Supplement Four]

Although it goes against my vision of the Medi-Comp, one thing that we could do is make the device useful to anyone, but if you have Medical-1 or more, you get a +1 DM bonus to use it (inspired by the CT roll to revive a person in low berth).

 

[Hyphen]

I think there's room for both devices in the Traveller universe.

Yep, there is.

Medical Supplies page from my Trade Tables:
http://members.tip.net.au/~davidjw/tavspecs/maint/trade/In15MedSupplies.htm

The MT versions are available in the MT Encyclopedia, pp 61-62 (Medical Scanner, Computer and Medical Scanner, Pocket, both TL 12).

MT gear is, IMNSHO, perfectly compatible with CT. But this was tagged as a "CT Only" thread. :-D

 

[mike wightman]

TL8
A smart device. this 'medikit' constantly monitors the wearer's blood pressure, heart rhythms, temperature, blood chemistry etc.

When linked to a database the device can diagnose many ailments and suggest treatment. It can also immediately alert emergency services as and when required, downloading data to the first responders,

An add on kit of medical drugs such as painkillers, antihistamine etc can be purchased with an automatic injector.

At TL 9 the data link is no longer necessary as the built in memory contains the total medical knowledge of the species the device is designed for.

At higher TLs more advanced drugs become available.

 

[Supplement Four]

Thoughts...

The key to the Medi-Comp is that it communicates with a large database that is somewhere else, not on the battlefield. Maybe that's on the ship or at a computer at the field hospital--or maybe a real hospital in a nearby city.

Maybe this is more of a civilian device meant for ambulances, med-techs, EMT's, and first responders that are in a city.

It advises, but is not perfect.

It is light and easy. It's a scanner and a read-out device. One must be a trained medic to use it (I'm thinking Medical-1 required).



I see the advantage is that it is cheap and possibly a lower tech item in that it doesn't have the medical database on board. It must communicate with a larger system. The effect is like having a Medical-3 doctor advise the med-tech using the device.

The med-tech must have his own drugs and bandages. The Medi-Comp only advises.

Communicating with the larger system should make the device more useful in that the database it connects to is so large. That database is expensive and higher tech.

There could be some communication problems with it.

I envision a scanner and probably voice command with keyboard (holographic?) backup.

 

[Spenser TR]

Is there a version that has the library complete, negating the need ( and complication ) of needing to communicate? Or is that point part of the art of what makes the device interesting in the game?

 

[Supplement Four]

Is there a version that has the library complete, negating the need ( and complication ) of needing to communicate? Or is that point part of the art of what makes the device interesting in the game?

Yeah, I envision it as a mouthpiece, not the brains.

 

[mike wightman]

The TL8 version I posted earlier is all based on current technology, it all already exists.

 

[ffilz]

The TL8 version I posted earlier is all based on current technology, it all already exists.

This is a general problem I have with SF game technology... How do you project stuff out and still have the technology of the game look futuristic several years later...

Heck, we're already well on our way to printing new organs...

Frank

 

[mike wightman]

I know exactly what you mean

TL8 is easy - advanced versions of what we have now , the medi-comp is basically a fusion into one device of stuff that exists in one form or another. For firearms add smart sights, cased telescoping ammo, revolvers firing from the bottom of the cylinder rather than the top.
Fusion power stations, null grav modules in vehicles, man portable laser weapons are magic tech introduced at this TL. I use films like Mission Impossible, Minority Report and the like as a description of this TL and of course Bladerunner...

TL9 is harder - data storage now means you no longer need interweb access for smart devices with a dedicated purpose such as the medi-comp, digital assistants and augmented reality are such that machinery is even easier to use than it is now. Fusion power is usable for large vehicles, grav technology make exploiting the resources of the solar system doable.

The Expanse is my go to description for this TL, along with films like Elysium, Total Recall (the remake no the Arnie one) and the like.

TL10+ is where I start to have difficulty - watching lots of Isaac Arthur videos has helped with this.