Medtech at the movies: Elysium

Space-age medical devices meet a social commentary on the healthcare sector

The public perception of our industry is in part shaped by Hollywood’s depictions of the devices, companies and individuals that keep the machine moving. This issue, David Gray reflects on Elysium’s treatment of the medtech sector

The film: Elysium

The year: 2013

The budget: $115 million

Box office takings: $286.1 million

Rating: 6.6/10 IMDB / 67% Rotten Tomatoes

Leading lights: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, Wagner Moura and William Fichtner

Written and directed by: Neill Blomkamp

Synopsis

In the year 2154, humans either live on the affluent space habitat called Elysium, or poverty-stricken, overcrowded earth. When the film’s protagonist Max falls gravely ill, he must find a way to get to Elysium and receive first-class healthcare.

Devices

The device that forms the backbone of Max’s mission is the Med-Bay. Similar in appearance to a modern day CT or MRI scanner, the Med-Bays are a one-size-fits-all cure for any ailment.

What’s interesting is that to use the Med-Bays, patients have to be tattooed with a unique ‘barcode’, giving the Med-Bay authorisation to treat them. 

In reality, we probably won’t have to wait till 2154 for true patient barcodes to be a reality. The UK’s former Director for Patients and Information, Tim Kelsey famously said ‘Every patient needs a barcode’. The increasing connectivity of our medical devices makes digitally enabled patient identification a logical progression for our healthcare systems.

There seems no limit to what the Med-Bays can cure. We see them reverse radiation poisoning, cure acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, and conduct facial reconstruction surgery – which comes with the added bonus of making the patient appear more youthful.

Wishful thinking? Absolutely. But that’s the kind of thinking that initiated the Qualcomm Tricorder Competition back in 2012. Qualcomm set the world a challenge: a race to invent a device that can correctly diagnose 13 health conditions, independent of healthcare workers or facilities. The world of science fiction has often been described as ahead of its time – Star Trek and Elysium were both franchises that delved pretty deep into the realms of plausibility.

Exoskeletons are also prominent throughout the film.

Yet again, Elysium describes a futuristic technology. But powered exoskeletons such as the ones used in the movie are already in use in healthcare settings. Perhaps the most notable example of this is the hybrid assistive limb (HAL) developed by Japanese robotics company Cyberdyne, in partnership with Tsukuba University. Certified ISO 13485, the device is used in Japanese hospitals for movement rehabilitation purposes. However, since the device can also assist users in lifting far heavier weights than they alone could it was also used in the cleanup operation following the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Powered exoskeletons like this typically work by intercepting biosignals on the skin, sent from the brain to the muscles. These biosignals register as instructions and assist the user’s movement.

Finally, data plays a significant role in the healthcare systems of the two respective worlds. Max is implanted with a data storage device, enabling him to download a programme designed to overthrow the current establishment in Elysium. Many of the characters in fact are programmed with ‘medical implants’, which appear to be linked to the aforementioned tattoos.

Portrayal of the sector

It’s not just the medical sector that comes under fire in Neill Blomkamp’s movie. Crime, poverty and labour all look pretty bleak on earth, whilst on Elysium there’s no crime, everyone has a swimming pool, and nobody really seems to contribute.

But the real struggles in the film come in the form of a desperate need for healthcare. Healthcare for the masses, for the poisoned Max, and healthcare for his friend’s daughter, who’s dying of leukaemia. Their social status denies them this privilege. They have hospitals on earth, but they look exactly like real hospitals of 2016 – albeit less hygienic. Medtech on earth has not advanced.

If you’re fortunate enough to live on Elysium however, there are no hospitals. Every citizen simply has access to the super-fast Med-Bays dotted around the habitat.

This film strongly alludes to the exclusive nature of certain healthcare systems, and their knock-on effect on innovation in medical technology.

Why you should see this film

While its not-so-subtle message is a little too on the nose for my liking, the movie nonetheless presents a hopeful vision of a future where medical technology is even more powerful than pharmaceuticals in curing disease.