Real-Life Tricorder

Last year’s winner of the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE is reportedly preparing to submit their product — known as DxtER — for FDA approval, with hopes of marketing it directly to consumers. The contest was originally launched in January 2012 and offered up to $7 million to the team that could develop a portable, noninvasive, medical device capable of diagnosing 13 medical conditions while continuously streaming five basic vital signs, including blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate and temperature. The single, portable package could also weigh no more than five pounds. While no team was able to capture the grand prize, DxtER was named the winner, earning its developers $2.6 million in funding to continue development.

The product consists of a suite of Bluetooth sensors and a tablet computer that runs a proprietary app. The app instructs the user on how to apply the sensors and returns a diagnosis (or an indication that no illness was detected) within minutes. Although the company has developed sensors and algorithms for diagnosing 34 separate health conditions, only half of those were used for the competition, including diabetes, atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sleep apnea, pneumonia, tuberculosis and urinary tract infection. The system can also pull together information from personal and family medical histories to enhance diagnostic accuracy.

As healthcare continues to progress toward a consumer-driven paradigm, technology will enable better outcomes through accurate and timely diagnosis. The company plans to market DxtER through Lowe’s at a retail cost of about $200.