A headline recently caught my eye about flying cars close to being a reality. Since this is pretty much the dream of everyone who grew up watching “The Jetsons,” I paused to read it.
Of course, it wasn’t quite what I hoped. Battery-powered short-range helicopter services to fly people to airports – to alleviate traffic congestion – have received Food and Drug Administration approval for testing.
Dr. Allan M. Block
In other words, they are still years away, I’m not going to be at the controls, and I won’t be taking them to my office anytime soon. (Granted, it’s only 5 minutes from my house, but wouldn’t you rather fly?)
Maybe it’s hyperbole, maybe clickbait, maybe just an enthusiastic writer, or a little of each.
On a similar note, a recent article titled, “A tiny patch may someday do your patients’ lab work,” about patches with microneedles to measure interstitial fluid, got my attention.
It certainly sounds promising, and more reasonable than the Theranos scam. This has interesting potential as a way to track lab values without repeated needle sticks.
But “someday” is the key word here. The technology is promising. For some conditions it certainly has the potential to improve patient care without frequent lab trips and blood draws.
But the point is ... it ain’t here yet. At the end of the article it says it may be available for some things within 2 years, with more indications over the next decade.
I’m not knocking the technology. That’s great news. But I’m seeing patients today. If I can’t offer it to them now, it doesn’t matter to me.
Maybe I’m a skeptic, but I’ve seen too many initially promising treatments or tests go nowhere when they move into large-scale trials. A lot of things seem like great ideas that don’t work out.
I think the microneedle patch probably has a future for certain conditions, and when it gets here it will be great for those who need it. But that won’t be tomorrow, or even 2024.
But, as with someday flying to work, I’m not holding my breath for it, either.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.