One of the largest design contests dollar-wise to improve healthcare in the US is focused on creating a medical diagnostic device inspired by Star Trek®. The Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE is a $10 million multi-year global competition to stimulate innovation and integration of precision diagnostic technologies.
Sponsored by the Qualcomm Foundation, the competition encourages teams to develop a consumer focused, mobile device capable of diagnosing and interpreting a set of 15 medical conditions, and capturing five vital real-time health metrics.
From the original list of 34 teams, the 10 teams advancing to the Final Round are: Aezon, Rockville, MD, a team of student engineers from Johns Hopkins University partnering with the Center for Bioengineering Innovation & Design; CloudDX, Mississauga, Canada, a team from medical devices manufacturer Biosign; Danvantri, Chennai, India, a team from technology manufacturer American Megatrends India; DMI, Cambridge, MA, a team from the DNA Medicine Institute partnering with NASA, the National Institutes of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Dynamical Biomarkers Group, Zhongli City, Taiwan, a team of physicians, scientists, and engineers led by Harvard Medical School; Final Frontier Medical Devices, Paoli, PA, a team led by Basil Leaf Technologies; MESI Simplifying Diagnostics, Ljubljana, Slovenia, a team from diagnostic medical device manufacturer MESI; SCANADU, Moffett Field, CA, a team from Silicon Valley-based start-up SCANADU; SCANurse, London, England, a team from diagnostic medical manufacturer SCANurse; and zensor, Belfast, Ireland, a team from clinical sensor and electrode company Intelesens Ltd.
As part of the Final Round, teams will compete in both diagnostic experience evaluations and consumer testing, slated for mid- to late-2015. The final judging and awards ceremony will take place in early 2016. Throughout the competition, the FDA will offer regulatory input to help teams prepare for potential FDA review. This is certain to be an exciting advance in diagnostics.
Another engineering design competition that we’ll be covering much sooner, is the 12th annual Create the Future Design Contest. This competition, open to engineers, students, and entrepreneurs worldwide is sponsored by COMSOL and Mouser Electronics, along with supporting sponsors Analog Devices and Intel. Contestants submitted entries in seven categories: Medical Products, Consumer Products, Electronics, Machinery/Automation/Robotics, Sustainable Technologies, Automotive/Transportation, and Aerospace & Defense. In the November issue, we’ll reveal the grand prize winner, as well as the Medical Products winner. Stay tuned.
Beth G. Sisk
Editor
