Medical Equipment

(Copied straight from .XML 'backup' file, needs formatting and corrections. ZM User (talk) 20:15, 22 April 2024 (PDT))

Medical Technology and Limits

(Insert long and boring but well-thought out and complete discussion of what the Confederacy can do for us.  It's probably simpler to just list the things they won't do: Repairs of long-standing brain damage, reversal of menopause, replacement of missing testes and ovaries, etc.)

TH's "Academy" has an AI explain:
   "Many species consider the reactivation of fertility to be abuse and exploitation, even in non-sentient creatures.  Menopause and the related phenomena in other species causes a cascade of changes, both physical and mental, in the individual involved.  While it is usually not difficult to reverse this cascade in progress, once it is complete, re-stimulation of the reproductive system can cause an incomplete restart of the system, resulting in physical deterioration and decreased lifespan.  The mental adjustments tend to be irreversible, and in the vast majority of cases, the reactivation of the reproductive system is viewed by the individual involved as an injustice..."

Confederacy Citizen Upgrades and Implants

    Not everyone gets the same upgrades.  There are three general categories: universal health-improvement things that everyone gets, a standard package for Line Marines who may find themselves dancing with a Sa'arm, and quite a few optional items that not everyone wants.

Universal Upgrades

    Upon initial pickup, all recruits (volunteer, concubine, and dependent alike) are run through a med-tube as early as possible to create a medical baseline, inject the standard set of nanites, and correct any IDLH (immediately dangerous to life or health) conditions found.  Unless there are IDLH problems found, this initial trip will usually be only 10-15 minutes to allow others to be quickly checked.
    The initial nanite package provided for all extractees contains tools that do various things: They will (in no particular order) clean out arterial plaque, remove tar and other foreign substances from lungs, help repair any improperly set broken bones, cure some addictions like caffeine, etc.  Note that some addictions (nicotine, alcohol, and cocaine specifically) will need further work for many users. (section not done)
    Sponsors are given a set of construction nanites that build an implant in their head.  This implant can be used for private communications with the local AI, since it taps into both the the optic and otic nerves.  These taps are two-way; not only does the implant pass on what the sponsor sees and hears, but the tap allows the implant to provide sights and sounds visible and audible only to that sponsor. (section not done)
    Concubines and Dependents are not given an implant.  There are conflicting reasons given for this; the most commonly accepted one is that they aren't really considered 'human' and are not worthy.  Both classes can become Sponsors later in life if they get a passing test on a CAP test. (section not done)

Line Marine Package

   It is Confederacy Marine Corps (CMC) policy that a Line Marine should not need weapons to kill a Swarm Trooper, should one of each meet without support.  To that end, any volunteer for Marine service is given a standard set of upgrades unless his assigned specialty precludes such.  Marines selected for service piloting small craft are often waived from this program to allow for smaller cockpits and quarters.
    The Line Marine Package is basically a standard size with height set to 2 meters and the rest of the body scaled up to proportion.  Frame and muscles are also beefed up to allow normal actions with the larger body.  A standard Line Marine masses 150Kg.
   Improvements to genitals are not formally a part of this program, but inadequacy is a common phobia among human males and many succumb to the temptation to ensure they will not under any circumstances be found to be sexually inadequate.  This led to a standard phallic size referred to as a "Budweiser" or "Tall Boy", both referring to the diameter of standard US beer cans.  That, in turn, led to personality conflicts when the sponsors neglected to also upgrade the mating equipment bay in their concubines.

Fleet Personnel Package

Confederacy Navy and Fleet Auxiliary personnel have no overall official policy for upgrades beyond the normal medical support and implant.

Med-Tubes

See Main Article::Med-Tube

   A Med-Tube is an enclosed device for providing medical care for Confederacy personnel.  The ones we see are all designed for human use so they are shaped and sized like coffins for much the same reason.  They contain a bed to lay on and a sealing cover.  Since some early users were found to suffer from claustrophobic issues when entering, it has become common to put the patient to sleep immediately upon entering, before closing the lid.  The method used has been described as a "neural field dampener".
   The med-tubes have been described as "fully automatic doctors" as well as "simple nanite programmers that cannot do anything without an AI driving it".  The truth is probably somewhere between.  They can inject nanites, re-program already existing nanites, provide raw materials for repairs, remove waste products including heat, and keep a human alive while undergoing repairs to critical systems.

   A Sleep-Trainer is merely a minimal med-tube, and a CAP Testing Station is merely a minimal sleep-trainer.  Both are covered in detail at Med-Tube.

Combat Support

(include ambulances and floaters, etc)

Grav Litter - A grav sled capable of carrying a 300 lb injured soldier suspended in the air. No propulsion. Weight 40 lbs. Must be guided by at least one (1) Marine size/strength individual or 2 to 6 standard Humans. May be fitted with a number of lightweight emergency/interventional medical devices (i.e., a simple transport ventilator/regulator with a small tank of highly compressed O2, an EKG, EEG, Vital Sign monitor and a BITCH Kit).

Medkits

BITCH Kits, short for B.I.T.C.H. Kitt.E.N. Medical Units (Basic Internal Treatments Compatible with Humans, Kits Enriched with Nanites) are small portable medical support packages intended for field use by semi-trained or untrained personnel.
    Premise: A pocket-sized pack containing a small computer with a graphic interface and a number of color-coded pads with symbolic pictures.  The computer is a very limited AI which can control and direct nanites over a short range to treat patients.  It has no personality programming and only contains a database of human anatomy and medical information and the obligatory self-destruct codes if someone tries to access its data without authorization.  The diagnostic computer is based off the current AED design.  There are three categories of pads:
  -   Diagnostic: a very thin, bandaid-like patch filled with trillions of nanites that swarm through the patient's body and map it.  The AI compares the map with the 'standard' map of a human in its database and looks for anomalies (wounds, injuries, infections, etc).  It then uses the information from the database to suggest treatments.  The nanites can be recalled for re-use after the patient is in a medical tube or other-wise no longer in need of monitoring by the unit.
  -   Drug: these patches are larger and thicker, being approximately 3"x3"x1/4" thick and sticky on one side.  These patches are basic pain-killers, stimulants, tranquilizers, antibiotics, antivirals, and any other basic type of medications deemed important by mission, like radiation exposure medication or anti-nausea.  They are put on when recommended by the AI and the nanites in the patch immediately load the drug into the patient directly through the skin.
  -   Treatment: these are wound patches.  They are 8"x8"x1/2" thick and labeled and color-coded by injury type.  They have preprogrammed nanites that can treat the indicated type of injury.  Some injuries can be completely healed, other types of more severe injuries are just stabilized.  For example a second-degree burn would be cured while a third-degree or radiation burn would be treated as best as possible to stabilize the patient until advanced care could be provided.  A laceration or avulsion could probably be completely healed, but an amputation would only be sealed over to stop bleeding and infection.  Most of the mass of the pad is raw materials the nanites can use to repair the damaged areas.  They do this by creating microtubes from the patch through the skin to transport the synthetic repair medium directly into the bloodstream.
    There are also slightly larger packs used in vehicles, shuttles and squad-level troop units.  The larger packs contain an aerosolized version of the patches as well.  They are faster acting, but have less nanites and repair materials.  They are used for quick, temporary stabilization until patches can be applied or the patient receives higher level treatment from medical personnel or in a medtube.  The inhaler tubes consist or two canisters of compressed oxygen and the treatment nanites, connected to a mouthpiece that regulates the flow of oxygen into the patient.  The inhalers have raised, florescent numbers on them so they can be differentiated in the dark or when the user cannot see.  The AI in the medkit will indicate what is to be used, just as it does the patches.

    The table below shows some of the patch types and their colors and treatment symbols.

Color	Symbol	Treatment type
Red	Human with blood spurting	Open wounds, bleeding, hematomas
Pink	Red Heart shape	Cardiac incidents
Black	Yellow lightning bolts	Electrical burns
Black	Orange flames	Thermal burns
Light Blue	Snowflake	Frostbite and cold-related injuries
Bright Yellow	Sun	Heat/sun related injuries, also replace salt/balance electrolytes
Yellow/Green	Biohazard trefoil	Infections, bacterial/viral
Dark Blue	Crashing wave	Rehydration pack

    The kits do not cure the following, but can stabilize the patient until advanced treats are available (a medtube can fix any of these except for moderate or worse physical damage to the brain):
Chemical/metal burns, including caustic alkali and acids
Amputations
Broken bones
Collapsed lungs
Strokes, brain damage, central nervous system damage
Impalements, foreign objects
Cosmetic treatments
Genetic abnormalities
Mental illness
Drowning, anoxia
Rebuilding internal organs
Third degree burns, radiation damage
Macro parasites (microbial/viral/prion invaders can be dissembled)

(Someday this will be a navigation template.  It will provide a bar across the bottom of each article with useful navigation links.  Until then, this is just a placeholder to get rid of all the red "broken link" indicators. -ZM User (talk) 10:00, 3 May 2024 (PDT))