DOCTORS' LOUNGE
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a gastrointestinal micro-bot that can deliver drugs, or potentially
biopsy something deep, inside us. This bot has a magnesium coating
that resists stomach digestion except for a small porthole that can
be laser-activated to react with acids. It generates bubbles which
function as a jet propulsion stream. Their lab has not achieved
accurate delivery, for instance to a tumor, just sort of a shotgun
release once the bubbles get going.
The MURAB biopsy system uses a marriage of magnetic res-
onance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound (US) imaging to pick the
exact place in abnormal tissue that the surgeon wants to biopsy,
robotically places a very thin tissue needle and backs out, leaving
only a tiny scar for a seriously accurate sample. There are annual
international surgical robotics competitions and the final for 2019
will be held in October.
We have now got companion robots who talk to shut-ins, kid
robots who cheer up pediatric patients, and pharmacy robots who
count and organize pills. Artificial intelligence (AI) robots predict
things. The NYU Medical AI program has searched thousands and
thousands of patient records for pre-diagnosis of future diabetes and
stroke and “so far has never been wrong” per its website. Pre-diag-
nosis sometimes really motivates people to change their sedentary
ways; others just shrug and go on. All of us in primary care have
been leaning hard on our patients for decades to get moving and
eat better. Perhaps if we had a program we could run in front of
them, and they could see their more dismal futures digitally unfold,
they’d believe us.
What we need most is a robot typist who understands us perfectly
and types on command, fully conversant with EMRs: alas, not avail-
able. So, my favorite robot is the disinfectant one. Hospitals use their
UV light-radiating power to sanitize, in minutes, rooms infected
with multiply resistant organisms. The ads for the SureStrike360 say
their “Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping” kills even Candida Auris,
the most recent scourge in hospital associated infections. They point
out that the average cost to the hospital per hospital-associated in-
fection is $25,000 and immediately the robots pay for themselves,
with current models ranging from $50,000 to $130,000.
If I ever meet one, I’m going to say “Klaatu barada nikto” and
nod respectfully.
Dr. Barry practices internal medicine with Norton Community Medical Associates-
Barret. She is a clinical associate professor at the University of Louisville School of
Medicine, Department of Medicine.
LEON L. SOLOMON, MD: PIONEER OF
INTERNAL MEDICINE
T
AUTHOR Gordon R. Tobin, MD
he Louisville Medicine biographical
series, Dr. Who, by Aaron Burch
brings welcome insights into fellow
members’ backgrounds, families
and avocations. In December 2018,
Morris Weiss, MD, was featured,
and we learned of his 125-year
family medical lineage through
his father, Morris Weiss, Sr., MD, and great-uncle, Leon Solomon,
MD. All left remarkable legacies that deserve preservation. Here
is the memorable story of Dr. Solomon, and his great local and
national contributions.
Leon Leopold Solomon, MD (1871-1959), practiced in Louisville,
Ky., at the opening of the 20 th century where he achieved national in-
fluence early in his career, by applying and promoting the era’s most
advanced medical knowledge and skills. He led fellow physicians
34
LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
into higher practice standards, including science-based therapies,
public health engagement and medical education reform through
organizational leadership at local, state and national levels. These
included chairing the AMA Council on Materia Medica, Pharmacy
and Therapeutics, and Section Directorships of the Kentucky Board
of Health and US Public Health Service. Highly acclaimed through-
out his career, he served the profession nobly, and he pioneered the
emerging specialty of internal medicine.
FAMILY ORIGINS AND EARLY LIFE
In 1871, Leon was born in Louisville, Ky., to Joseph and Eva Bach
Solomon, who both came from Reformed Jewish communities in
Alsace, Germany, immigrating in 1863. Joseph’s early occupation
was a country store clerk. From this modest beginning, he came
to own several country stores across Kentucky. Financial success
allowed the Solomon family to establish residence in Louisville,