trekkies like myself might be called geeks and dorks but that show is probably responsible for more progress in the world than faraday and newton.
what other means have excited so many people to pursue careers in engineering? or even politics or botany?
now comes the x prize challenge to create a similar device as dr. mccoy's tricorder. that would be a noninvasive device that can run a battery of diagnostics on a patient and spit out results just by waving it near the patient's body.
i'd call it star trek's contribution to the medical industry. may we all live long and prosper.