Eric Topol took some ribbing last night as he visited the Colbert Report to promote his book, The Creative Destruction of Medicine.
Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute, is a proponent of the use of smartphones and other mobile technologies for medical use, and recently saved the lives of two patients using such methods.
On the show, he used a number of smartphone-enabled medical devices to perform a cardiogram and an ear canal exam on host Stephen Colbert, who asked, "are you Dick Tracy?”
Topol said that smartphones can be useful for remote monitoring, but it's clear that these devices won't replace trained doctors any time soon.
"Siri, am I dying?" Colbert asked his phone.
"I really can't say," she replied.