What sounds a bit like science fiction is everyday hospital reality for Verma - and she's not the only one. Physician and researcher James Mah of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, for example, creates virtual 3D copies of patients, as he explained at the AAAS conference.

In 2010, a middle-aged Texan man named Billy Crawford went to hospital to check out an odd black dot on his nose.

James Mah, DDS, MSc, DMSc, has been appointed as chief technology officer to help develop improved treatment protocols, training resources, and brand-new products to be unveiled in 2014.