Blastomere Organs: Cloning and growing organs for those needing transplants has become a viable practice in the Core, but Blastomeres—a recent Newtech creation—could make this practice obsolete. Designed to be acceptable by any human body, the synthetic organs could eliminate the time needed to grow a cloned organ. Blastomeres are longer-lasting and are more durable than normal human organs, potentially improving the body and increasing the lifespan of the recipient. Needless to say, they are extraordinarily expensive and, since they are still undergoing testing, they are not yet available to the public.
Cryo Chamber: Designed originally to put patients in stasis until they can be properly treated (or a cloned organ can be grown), cryogenic freezing chambers have a number of other uses. Slavers sometimes transport their victim in cryo, though this is expensive and can pose a problem if the people handling the cryo unit don’t know how to use it properly. Putting a body in cryo requires giving the person a carefully measured set of injections, depending on how long the stasis is supposed to last. Removing the person from cryo requires a careful “warm-up” procedure. Not following these procedures doesn’t necessarily mean that the subject will die, but this can happen if the user bungles it badly.
Dermal Mender: Another fancy medical innovation, this is for those who don’t like stitches and can pay to avoid scarring. Through a combination of regenerative stimulation and the application of artificial skin, the dermal mender can close almost any wound in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, while the mender works well for tissue bond (don’t fiddle with it and it should be good as new in a few days), the dermal mender can’t fix bone, cartilage, or organs. It’ll patch up your skin (and maybe even help put an ear or a nose back on, at least partially), but that’s it. After surgery, the dermal mender can close the incision (maybe healing some of the Wound damage) and prevent infection. The GM is the final arbiter as to what Wounds inflicted on a character can be healed with a dermal mender.
Doctor’s Bag: A collection of basic medicines, antibiotics, scalpels, extractors, etc. Everything a doctor needs to perform minimally in house-call environments, though far from enough to treat everything he might encounter. Out on the Rim, this may be the best there is. The GM will assign a –2 to –4 Skill step penalty for trying to perform any surgery or complex procedure equipped with only the supplies found in this bag.
Doctor’s Bag (MedAcad): A doctor who graduates from one of the major Medical Academies (on Osiris, Londinum, or Sihnon) will almost certainly have one of these. Technically, they are available to any licensed practitioner in the Core (as are most medical supplies, if the buyer can pay), but that means that the person much have attended one of the major MedAcads or has his training certified by one, which is no mean feat. These more advanced doctor’s kits include the best in portable instrumentation, the latest in commonly needed medicines (though in small amounts), and so forth. The penalty for any surgery with this is reduced to between –1 and –3 Skill steps from a normal doctor’s bag, though some things (such as major open-heart surgery) still require more than is available here.
First-Aid Kit: A standard first-aid kit containing several pain killers, weaves, smelling salts and other minor but useful items. At the GM’s option, someone using a first-aid kit can staunch bleeding, apply painkillers to reduce Wound penalties, and so forth. It counts as “standard equipment” for firstaid rolls.
Immunization Packet: These little foil packets contain several hypos of medicine and a couple of chewable tablets. Using a packet will help prevent the user from being infected by almost any known disease. The effects last for only about 48 hours.
MedComp: While a bit big to carry by hand (being a little bigger than a Cortex terminal), the medcomp combines most necessary medical scanners with a set of diagnostic progs. Most of the sensors operate via a plastic-cased finger sleeve attached to the medcomp by a wire; someone hooked up can have his heart rate, body temperature, blood chem levels, and so forth monitored by the computer. Use of a medcomp gives a doctor +2 Skill Steps to diagnose a problem or disease, and the monitors may allow a doctor extra time to react to and treat emergency situations (if a patient’s heart stops, for example).
Medical Supplies, Emergency: The doctor who pays the monthly cost for keeping these on hand should be equipped to deal with most major medical situations he could reasonably expect to encounter (serious gunshot wounds, major infections, massive blood loss, etc.). Being wellstocked with emergency medical supplies gives +2 Skill steps to rolls to treat both major and minor medical problems—as long as the GM rules the situation is not so unusual that the doctor is unprepared for it—and the bonus stacks with that when the doctor has Medical Supplies, Standard, when applicable. Constant use may require that the supply be restocked more often than once a month.
Medical Supplies, Standard: Paying the monthly cost to keep an infirmary stocked with the basics allows the doc to make rolls without penalty to treat most common or mild problems, such as a cold or a bullet in the leg. For treating a minor wound (usually 1-4 Wound points), using such supplies can even give a +1 Skill step bonus.
Operating Theatre, Modular: Developed during the war so that base camp hospitals could be set up quickly almost anywhere, a Modular Operating Theatre equipped with a MedComp andstandard and emergency medical supplies counts as Superior Supplies/Ambulance Conditions for firstaid and surgery purposes. Since many ships were equipped with them during the war, most ships use a similar model for their infirmary.