Scanadu: The medical Tricorder from Star Trek is here
(CNN)In 2013, an Illinois man convinced several investors to fund a revolutionary medical
device, to the tune of over $25 million.
He called it the "McCoy Home Health Tablet", and promised it would instantly deliver patient
data to doctors.
In other words, he was pitching the legendary Tricorder from Star Trek, even naming it after Dr.
Leonard "Bones" McCoy, the blue-clad, very irritable medical officer from the 1960s show.
It was a scam. The device didn't exist, and the man was caught and convicted for his crimes. But
as a testimony to how quickly reality catches up with fantasy nowadays, less than two years later
the Tricorder does exist. And it works.
The Bluetooth doctor
It's called "Scanadu Scout" -- after Xanadu, an ancient city of great splendor and scientific
progress, made famous by English poet S. T. Coleridge -- and the greatest thing about it is that
it's not a design concept, nor a million-dollar prototype, but an actual product. After a successful
crowdfunding round via Indiegogo, the Scanadu has began shipping to backers at the end of
January.
It is a tiny, round and rigorously white device -- even though a black version is in the plans -and it works by placing it on one's forehead.
Through its sensor, and in a matter of seconds, the Scanadu measures heart rate, temperature,
blood pressure, oxygen level and provides a complete ECG reading.
Just like "Bones"
The device is the brainchild of Walter De Brouwer, a Belgian entrepreneur who had to learn how
hospitals work -- and don't work -- the hard way after his son suffered brain damage as the
consequence of a fall.
His inspiration came directly from science fiction: "Star Trek was more than just a movie, it was
a business plan," he told CNN's Nick Glass.
In Star Trek, the Tricorder was handled by a doctor, but De Brouwer thinks the most
revolutionary aspect of the Scanadu is that it can be used by anyone: "We've medicalised your
smartphone. You can now check your health as easily as your email. People will no longer ask if
there's a doctor on the plane, but if there's a Tricorder."
Real word testing
Scanadu operates out of the NASA Research Park in California: "Each of us has more computer
power in his pocket now than the whole of NASA in the 1960s when they launched Apollo,"
notes De Brouwer.
The device is not yet available to purchase, pending FDA approval, but those who contributed to
the Indiegogo campaign are already receiving it and providing "in the wild" testing:
The comparison with the Tricorder, even in the form of a toy replica, is an obvious one:
Scanadu is also working on another product, called the Scanaflo, which is a complete urine test
kit that can be used at home.
Health through lasers
De Brouwer's vision for the future is even more forward thinking than his current achievements:
"I think in ten years from now we'll be relying heavily on silicon lasers," he says.
The reason for firing a laser beam at a patient? "We have to think of patients as non-cooperative,
because we're lazy, we forget to go to the doctor. With lasers, our medical data can be taken
when we pass in front of one of the lasers in our home, or in our car. We will be unaware. But
healthier."
1. Why will it be important for people to evaluate the Scanadu before it ever hits the market and is
for sale around the world?
2. If the Scanadu sells for $249 each but offers a 10% discount in KY for the first 500 sold what will
be the final cost after the discount is applied and KY sales tax is also applied?