“The day before something is truly a breakthrough; it’s a crazy idea.”
Peter H. Diamandis
As a child, I remember watching reruns of the original Star Trek with my brother and father. One scene that I was always impressed by was when “Bones” or Dr. McCoy used his tricorder to assess vitals and make a diagnosis based on what his tricorder revealed. The tricorder of course, has only three functions: sensing, recording, and computing.
In addition to the immediacy the tricorder provided, I was also intrigued by the possibility of independence one might find in healthcare as they availed of the tricorder. Of course, some of the benefits to those that could afford such an item would be a more precise objective and perhaps more feasible means of assessing healthcare. Science Fiction has always played a role in inspiring innovators, as Smithsonian points in the following article.
Further, medical treatment is costly. This is especially true with the treatment and care of long-term health conditions. As Benjamin Franklin noted, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” diagnosing conditions and efficiently collecting metrics may go a long way in preventing costly and long-term treatment of health conditions.
XPRIZE launched the global competition in 2011 (Walters, 2011) and challenged teams to develop a consumer-focused, mobile integrated diagnostic device. XPRIZE offered $10 million to motivate an innovator to make the tricorder a reality. XPRIZE and its partners continue to inspire inventors. Just recently, Elon Musk has partnered with XPrize to award $100 million to the winning teams who develop the best methods for carbon removal to re-balance the Earth’s carbon cycle.
Mobile phones already hold great promise in medical diagnostics and the detection of scientifically relevant phenomena.
Qualcomm was awarded nearly $10 million in 2017 for developing the DXTer-their version of the tricorder. Interestingly, the Rodenberry foundation, which builds upon Star Trek’s creator Gene Rodenberry’s “vision for a future where diversity and tolerance are encouraged and in which inclusivity and equality are the norm.” ( TRF, page accessed 2021, March) Qualcomm developed its version of a tricorder capable of accurately diagnosing thirteen different health conditions. The DXTer will retail for 200-400 USD to make it a viable option for consumers in need. Consumers can…
“…test themselves for anemia, urinary tract infections, diabetes, atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat), sleep apnea, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), pneumonia, ear infection, whooping cough, high blood pressure, mononucleosis and increased white blood cell counts…the DxtER also can monitor five vital signs continuously: blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, respiratory rate, and blood oxygen levels.” (Healthday, 2017)
This, of course, highlights not only the achievements of the innovators of the tricorder but also the constraints such a device has in terms of the limited number of diagnoses it can make. The tricorder in Star Trek is presented as a device capable of detecting practically any issue.
It s likely that more specialized apps be developed with non-invasive probes, and perhaps more specialized probes are developed to handle different conditions. For example, there may be a special Oncology add-on specifically for detecting common cancers. A tricorder that could be used in pediatric medicine is already being developed (Chan et al, 2019). As well A DNA tricorder is also in the works. “By pairing an iPhone with a handheld DNA sequencer, users can create a mobile genetics laboratory” ( p. 1 International Roundup, 2020). By focusing on the task of diagnosis, medical professionals can be free to attend to other important tasks involved in healthcare. Further, considering that the healthcare system is already strained under the pandemic, a tricorder could reduce doctor and hospital visits.
There would also be a demand for a tricorder in isolated and remote parts of the planet where people live and work. Telemedicine has already been used in consultation (Ganesh, A et al, 2020) and even in surgeries. (Asiri et al, 2018)
In conclusion, the development of a tricorder is wonderful sci-fi nostalgia brought to life. In light of the pandemic and reduced contact with people, medical diagnostics that utilize smartphones are being developed at a rapid pace. However, for those of us with chronic illnesses living in a data-driven world, perhaps utilizing our smartphones’ processing power may prove to be one of the smartest things our phones can do.
Works Cited:
Asiri, A., AlBishi, S., AlMadani, W., ElMetwally, A., & Househ, M. (2018). The use of telemedicine in surgical care: A systematic review. Acta Informatica Medica, 26(3), 201-206
Chan, J., Raju, S. C., & Topol, E. (2019). Towards a tricorder for diagnosing paediatric conditions. The Lancet (British Edition), 394(10202), 907-907.
Ganesh, A., Sahu, P., Nair, S., & Chand, P. (2020). A smartphone based e-consult in addiction medicine: An initiative in COVID lockdown. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 51, 102120-102120.
International roundup; World’s first pocket DNA tricorder created in U.S. (2020, ). Interfax : Russia & CIS Health & Pharmaceuticals
Waters, H. (2011). New $10 million X prize launched for tricorder-style medical device. Nature Medicine, 17(7), 754-754
This was a great idea for the A3 assignment. I did not know of these devices, including the Tricorder in Star Trek. So thank you for explaining all of that.
I see so many pros and cons to this technology. I can envision people becoming paranoid about there health, and I see the technology catching something early and saving lives. I would have enjoyed an argument on the why the pros outweighing the cons for this technology. But regardless, it was a great topic and I enjoyed reading and watching your assignment.
Hey there Philip,
Like some others that will read through this post, I have not seen Star Trek. One quick thought. I remember Samsung had a phone with an infrared sensor that would measure your heart rate. Still, the feature was removed in later models of phones—considering that most mobile phone development stems from what customers want and modularity. Would you predict a kickstart or a company like One Plus would develop a phone with medical applications?
Thank you for sharing. This post may also be the reason I start watching Star Trek.
Hi Phillip,
I love the topic, one of my University classmates was even on the winning XPrize team (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rules-game-innovation-how-we-won-10m-qualcomm-xprize-dylan-horvath). You posting is a great introduction to the topic and summary of what the Tricorder and XPrize competition was all about. I would have loved to hear more of what the implications to healthcare, health education, and society as a whole would (and will be, this will come to us in our lifetime) be, in your opinion. It would fit in the them of the A3 forecast to dream a little and tell us what this revolution will mean or not mean. Look at how WebMD has created a generation of near hypochondriacs, will these devices lead to further risk adversity in our society or release us from fear, uncertainty and doubt? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Having never seen Star Trek, I have to say I didn’t quite understand what the Tricorder was until I saw the videos. Thank you for including those. Then I was reminded of a lovely scene in Big Bang Theory between Amy and Sheldon and my understanding was connected. ????
If our mobile devices could analyze our medical problems, even the most basic ones, or be a guide for whether or not we need to consult a doctor, that would be incredible. How many times have we gone to the clinic with a sore throat thinking we may have something severe, and the doctors only recommendation is hot liquids and cough syrup? Every year, hundreds of billions of dollars are wasted on small trips to the doctor that could easily be resolved with simple diagnoses.
But at the same time, the liability of such a device could cause even more severe problems. A mild headache could be misdiagnosed and something more severe could be underlying. How could a mobile device really be able to tell the two apart? Could only a licensed doctor utilize a tool like this effectively? Or would it be designed for the public market?
Hi Brittany,
Yes I agree to the non-invasive nature of medical technology. I am reminded of the Hippocratic oath of: ” First do no harm”. Assessing a patient should not be physically or mentally harmful physically. Further, I agree that the massive amount of data available coupled with AI is practically how the DXTer provides a diagnosis. The “real” tricorder was also a device to collect other data as Spock, the science officer often did in the TV show.
https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=opGI_Vfq7KY
Wow this is amazing Philip!
I will just add 2 more ideas. I think other thing are happening in medicine, and they are this. 1. The culture of health is likely moving from invasive to non-invasive procedures. The less intrusion the less pain. 2. The other culture is access to one’s medical data on the spot, any place at any time. Hence digital health data. A tricorder would make sense in this type of culture.