Duke neurosurgeon picks up role on NBC show ‘Chicago Med’

By Rick Armstrong

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    NORTH CAROLINA (WRAL) — A Duke neurosurgeon now splits his time between a real hospital and one on TV.

Dr. Oren Gottfried has long been a medical consultant for the popular NBC drama “Chicago Med.” Now, he’s also the voice of an A.I. medical robot on the show.

Dr. Gottfried enjoys his work with patients at Duke Health – but when he’s home or traveling, he often reviews scripts for medical accuracy on NBC’s popular medical drama.

“I’ve found it very interesting to be able to assist with the reality of medicine with these very dramatic stories,” he says.

Recently, he pitched an idea to the show that now has him working as a voice actor.

“The current role I play is the machine called OR.20,” he says.

Robots are nothing new in modern medical settings, but aspects of the character voiced by Dr. Gottfried is still just science-fiction.

“I serve as a surgical assistant, my voice. I’m giving guidance to the surgeons. The surgeons are asking me questions. I’m helping them almost like an extra surgeon in the room,,” said Gottfried about the new character.

The TV robot even has sensors to monitor how the surgeon is feeling. Gottfried enjoys the dramatic moments he’s helped to create, but sometimes he says, they feel too real, even for him.

“Being a consultant, it allows me to think of scenarios that I don’t have to live through. Many times I’ve crafted complications that I don’t want to ever see in real life,” he says.

Dr. Gottfried says the technology of the new “artificial intelligence” robot character on NBC is not so far from happening in real life.

“Chicago Med” episodes air at 8 p.m. Wednesdays on NBC.

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