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$10M Tricorder X PRIZE Kicks off
Back in May, we heard about Qualcomm's plans to hammer out details for an X PRIZE competition to invent a Star Trek-style tricorder. Now, reader Sven-Erik sends word that the requirements have been finalized and the competition has launched.
"As envisioned for this competition, the device will be a tool capable of capturing key health metrics and diagnosing a set of 15 diseases. Metrics for health could include such elements as blood pressure, respiratory rate, and temperature. Ultimately, this tool will collect large volumes of data from ongoing measurement of health states through a combination of wireless sensors, imaging technologies, and portable, non-invasive laboratory replacements. Given that each team will take its own approach to design and functionality, the device's physical appearance and functionality may vary immensely from team to team. Indeed, the only stated limit on form is that the mass of its components together must be no greater than five pounds."
I'm sorry but this is a stupid idea. You are going to go to great lengths to detect things the patient could just tell you. You certainly aren't going to ask a three-hundred pound person to stand on your tricorder to take their weight. You'll just ask them. medical diagnosis is an algorithm -- it's a software problem. how you get the data is not that important, nor does it require that much technology. A thermometer, a scale, a stethoscope, a blood-pressure cup are all well-established inexpensive tools that work. What matters is what you do with that data. There are two things we need to work on, in my not so humble opinion: 1. An algorithm for diagnosing visual data -- pictures of ears, nose, throat, skin and 2. An algorithm for parsing patient narrative about their ailment against their medical history, family medical history, recent dietary/athletic/sleep/sex/environmental/social triggers. Rather than a Swiss army knife of instruments, we need an i-phone with Siri hooked up to something like IBM's Watson, configured for medical diagnosis. Unless you know how to fit an MRI, XRAY Machine, centrifuge, and dna lab into a five pound box.