GH-7 medical analysis unit

"The Geeaych-Seven: Four-time winner of the 'Silver Bantha' for excellence in industrial design."

- Excerpt from a Chiewab Amalgamated Pharmaceuticals sales manual

The GH-7 medical analysis unit was a model of medical droid in operation during the final years of the Galactic Republic. It was manufactured by the Chiewab Amalgamated Pharmaceuticals Company in competition with Geentech's 2-1B, and designed by a group of Columi. The GH-7 was used on many Outer Rim medical outposts, including the CIS facility on Boz Pity and the medical center on Polis Massa. It was a multi-purpose automaton designed to handle diagnostics and surgical assistance duties. Though reminiscent of a humanoid form, the GH-7 was not modeled on any particular species, instead designed to perform efficiently on a variety of outlying worlds among any number of alien races. The droid had access to a range of medical duties, all the while wirelessly connected to the current medical facility's main computer. Also, it could serve as an assistant to an organic medic, as it was made so that all of its tools were easily accessible.

One instance of the droid's use was when unexpected visitors brought the dying Padmé Amidala to Polis Massa. A GH-7 tried everything within its power to save her life. All of the droid's testing on her condition came back negative; the GH-7 could not find an answer in its data banks as to why her condition continued to deteriorate.

History


Chiewab Amalgamated Pharmaceuticals, though one of the galaxy's largest medical corporations, was not known for making droids. It was an opportunity the company could have gained, however, to become a forerunner and lead player in the droid market if it had not spun off its subsidiary unit, Geentech. Geentech soon proved too valuable to lose when the company introduced the smash hit 2-1B; but by then it was too late to claim copyrights on the valuable property. Before Chiewab could even have a chance, Industrial Automaton swooped in and absorbed the solo franchise. Ever since, Chiewab worked to make amends for the 2-1B with the GH-7, its best contender. Using a percentage of the company's vast profits, which the company had enough in abundance to purchase entire planets to test varieties of drugs, Chiewab hired a droid design staff comprised entirely of the highly intelligent Columi. The big-brained intellectual species' love for logic and efficiency in engineering were qualities expressed in the GH-7. The droid's somewhat radical yet functional design was well-received by many, winning rave reviews in the industry press.

However, Core World medical facilities continued to purchase the more sophisticated 2-1B or the broader MD series medical droids, making the Outer Rim a more welcoming market for the droids. During the Clone Wars, one such droid was assigned to a Confederacy of Independent Systems facility on Boz Pity, where the droid tended to a healing Asajj Ventress.

After Padmé Amidala was injured by Darth Vader on Mustafar, she was taken to a medical facility on Polis Massa. There, this soft-spoken medical droid bore the news from the silent Polis Massan medics who worked diligently to save Padmé's life. Though they found nothing physically wrong with her, for reasons they could not pinpoint she was losing her grasp on life. However, this news was mingled with hope for those present, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Bail Organa, and Yoda; the Senator was pregnant with twins. Though the Polis Massan medics were unable to save Amidala's life, she did give birth to twin infants, Luke and Leia, giving these children a chance at life.

Design


The GH-7 was designed so as not to mimic any known species. This was to ensure it would be comfortable for a variety of aliens to be treated by the droid. The design settled on had a roughly humanoid torso, three main limbs, and a central head unit. The droid was kept easily customizable to account for last-minute emergency needs and use with non-human races. A slit in the droid's chest also served as a hologram projector, which had the capacity to generate life-sized holograms of a patient in order to better illustrate the steps of a complicated procedure. A separate equipment tray was built into the droid's "crest", which held such tools as scalpels, bone spreaders, and other diagnostic tools. Everything on the droid's body was arrayed to allow for easy access. The droid was mostly gray and black, with a bright green holoprojector, display, and photoreceptors, and a blue symbol on the droid's chest marking the analysis chamber.

On the droid's left hip was a black, L-shaped tray, and another, smaller tray slightly above that. In addition to these, the droid boasted a specimen rack that protruded from the side of the droid and held sample jars or vials of live cultures. Repulsor fields kept the sensitive liquids balanced to inhibit spilling.

The droid's torso sported three dexterous arms; two were connected to the shoulders and were single-hinged, with three dual-hinged manipulators. The third protruded from atop the right shoulder and was also single-hinged with two dual-hinged fingers. These three limbs allowed the droid to perform various delicate tasks, from collecting specimens to hypodermic injections. A fourth, less-noticeable arm housed a testing probe. This arm was used when analyzing a biological sample to insert the sample into the droid's built-in analysis chamber.

The head of the droid was a hammer-headed shape, with a flat "face" and a long sloping crest at the back of its head. A wire connected the crest to the back of the droid. Its photoreceptors were wirelessly linked to the medical mainframes of its current facility, as well as doubling as bioscanners and functions that included parallax brainwave readings. A disc-shaped display screen exhibited video or pictographic information regarding the GH-7's testing results and its diagnostic conclusions.

The design of the GH-7 was so succussful that it won the "'Silver Bantha' for excellence in industrial design" four times.

Programming
"Medically, she is completely healthy. For reasons we can't explain, we are losing her."

- A GH-7 to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Bail Organa

The GH-7 was programmed with considerable intelligence, enabling the droid to act as a diagnostician, a surgical assistant, anesthesiologist, and/or hematologist. The droid was, unlike most medical units, transported on and provided mobility by a single whisper-quiet repulsorlift cell for maximum mobility in an operating room and to reduce contact with potentially contaminated surfaces.

The droid was programmed with a gentle, calming voice meant to soothe both patients and their companions alike. It was also programmed with several mannerisms meant to give it a more benevolent and approachable feel, such as gestures or subtle movements or raises in pitch. Its largish head, while echoing the Columi's similarly oversized skull, gave the droid the look of a child, making it seem less threatening, as did the lack of any sharp edges and the rounded appearance.

Behind the scenes
The Polis Massan GH-7 medical droid in Revenge of the Sith was voiced by David Acord, who also served as the Assistant Sound Editor on Revenge of the Sith, Apprentice Sound Editor on Attack of the Clones and Supervising Assistant Sound Editor on the DVD release of the original trilogy. Due to his cameo as the part, he named his Star Wars blog Experimental Surgery with GH-7, after the medical assistant.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Obsession
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Notes and references
GH-7