Real-World Star Trek Tricorder Raises $10.5 Million in Funding

The real-world device inspired by Star Trek's tricorder just took one step closer to becoming a reality.

Scanadu, the startup behind a small handheld scanner that measures a patient's vital signs like heart rate and temperature, announced $10.5 million in funding from multiple investors on Tuesday. Relay Ventures led the new investment, which included former Yahoo cofounder and CEO Jerry Yang, that brings the company's total raised to $14.7 million. This will be used to expand the Scanadu team as it seeks FDA approval for the device called Scanadu Scout, said CEO Walter De Brouwer.

Scout reads vital signs in seconds before transferring the data to a patient's smartphone. The idea is not to replace doctors, according to De Brouwer, but provide patients with additional data about their health without requiring an expensive trip to the emergency room.

In addition to temperature and heart rate, users can check other vital readings like oxygenation and respiratory rate.

"Our enemy is no longer fever," De Brouwer said. "Our 21st-century enemy is cardiovascular."

Users can share their data with doctors directly from the accompanying app. This means a patient could take his vitals on the way to the hospital and the doctor would have them in hand upon his arrival. Doctors are still necessary to analyze the collected data, but now patients can simplify that process.

An Indiegogo campaign from this summer confirmed the public's interest in this kind of technology. Scanadu reached its $100,000 goal in the first hour, raising more than $1.6 million in just under two months.

A working prototype doesn't mean that Scout is ready for the public, though. In addition the the new funding, Scanadu announced a new Medical Advisory Board on Tuesday comprised of seven health and medical professionals, including current professors and one former FDA official.

FDA approval is key to Scout's future. In order for the device to serve its purpose, doctors and patients must be able to trust the data. The FDA seal of approval will go a long way in generating that trust, De Brouwer said.

"For the [typical] consumer on the streets, the FDA are superheroes," he added.

Scanadu's proposal to the FDA will include both a usability study conducted by the Indiegogo backers and a medical study carried out by Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, Calif. Those who purchased the device on Indiegogo should expect to receive their version of Scout in March, De Brouwer said.

Scanadu hopes the proposal will be ready in a year and that Scout will be available to consumers shortly after for $199.

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Image: Scanadu