You might not get a robot best friend, or a trip around the world in virtual reality any time soon. But in one field, some of these ultra-hyped trends are actually looking like the technologies of today.

The medical industry certainly has a complicated relationship with technology. Just look at the challenges with digital health records; today, most Americans’ health records still live in a filing cabinet somewhere.

But digital records aside, the med-tech scene is a truly exciting place. Some of the coolest, most futuristic new ideas are quickly finding a home there. And in many cases, they’re creating an immediate impact that far surpasses expectations. Unfortunately, these breakthroughs don’t seem to get as much attention as trendy consumer projects. But they’re driving a quiet revolution in medicine–one that promises to deliver cheaper health care, better doctors, and healthier people on a remarkable scale.

Here are four of the most exciting trends:

We all know Amazon deliveries will arrive via drone some day, but robots have actually been a big deal in health care for some time. Since gaining FDA clearance back in 2000, the Da Vinci Surgical System has performed over 1.5 million operations worldwide. When manned by a human operator, robotic surgery can ensure a greater degree of control and precision–especially important when operating on delicate organs like the prostate gland. Despite some setbacks, the popularity of these systems continues to increase, as hospitals expand their use to other types of operations like lung and heart surgery.

Even away from the operating room, robots are working to keep us healthy. The new Mission Bay Hospital in San Francisco employs an entire fleet of robots to transport supplies around the hospital floor. They can navigate freely, and even open doors and call elevators by themselves.

Another fairly recent breakthrough truly sounds like science fiction. Researchers are actively testing the use of microbots–miniscule robots–for medical entry into our bloodstreams. Controlled by motors and microprocessors, they may soon be delivering drugs to targeted organs, tissues, or even specific cells.