The US$10mil (RM31.75mil) Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, a competition that aims to make science fiction a reality, has narrowed its participant pool to ten remaining teams. The challenge: to create and develop a medical device capable of interpreting and diagnosing at least 15 medical conditions and reading five vital health metrics, using the illustrious Tricorder from Star Trek as an ideal.

Devices are to be consumer-oriented and portable, and the rules forbid them from weighing over five pounds, including batteries and additional charging units.

Some team project websites reveal the conditions they are aiming to diagnose, including anemia, sleep apnea, leukocytosis, atrial fibrulation, tuberculosis, hepatitis A, diabetes and ear infections, which, if proven successful, would reduce and in some cases eliminate doctor visits.

Slovania-based MESI offers a video of its project, the main component of which is a smartphone app, and extra parts aid in taking vital signs including ECG readings and analysing samples of urine and blood that can assess for a variety of conditions. Watch

"We want consumers to take a more proactive approach to managing their health and having convenient access to real-time medical data will do just that," said the prize's senior director Grant Campany. "As we move to the final stage of this process, we are one step closer to putting healthcare in the palm of your hand."

The global competition was launched in January 2012 and a winner won't be announced until 2016, after consumer testing has been completed.

In all cases, qualifying devices will submit to formal FDA regulatory proceedings after the competition ends.

At the start of the competition, 21 teams from nine countries submitted their entries to be considered for the qualifying round, which required them to address safety, usability and efficiency at health assessment.

For more information about the finalists, announced late last month, visit qualcommtricorderxprize.org/teams.

The competition is one of many for XPRIZE, which was founded in 1995 with an eye to solving the biggest global challenges in the domains of learning, exploration, energy and environment, global development and life sciences.

For more information, visit xprize.org.

source:The Star