The Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE was an inducement prize contest announced on May 10, 2011, sponsored by Qualcomm Foundation. It officially launched on January 10, 2012.[1] The $10 million prize is awarded for creating a mobile device that can "diagnose patients better than or equal to a panel of board certified physicians".[2] The name is taken from the tricorder device in Star Trek which can be used to instantly diagnose ailments.[3] The focus of the competition guidelines was towards clinical symptoms, versus accurate measurement of test values.

Qualcomm Tricorder X PRIZE
Awarded fordeveloping a device that can "diagnose patients better than or equal to a panel of board certified physicians"
CountryWorldwide
Presented byX PRIZE Foundation (sponsored by Qualcomm)
Reward(s)Grand Prize US$7 million
Second Prize US$2 million
Third Prize US$1 million
First awarded2014
Websitehttps://www.xprize.org/prizes/tricorder

Although no team successfully met all the requirements of the grand prize, the competition was concluded in April 2017 when the XPRIZE Foundation awarded reduced prizes to the strongest performing teams. For the first time at any XPRIZE, the leftover funds from the main prize purse were earmarked for further development, consumer testing, and commercialization of tricorder prototypes for the two finalists and four semi-finalist teams as part of the Post Prize Initiative.[needs update]

Prize details

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The Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE originally offered a US$7 million grand prize, US$2 million second prize, and US$1 million third prize to the best among the finalists offering an automatic non-invasive health diagnostics system that meets the following requirements.[4][5] The final contest rules deviated from a single portable device and allowed the contestants to utilize multiple devices (as a system), thus moving away from the concept of a Star Trek tricorder. This rule expansion allowed teams to utilize some existing off-the-shelf add-ons or modifications to meet the aims of the competition.

The name is taken from the tricorder device from the science fiction TV series Star Trek which can be used to instantly diagnose ailments.[6][3] The prize was initially announced by the X PRIZE Foundation on 10 May 2011 and subsequently launched on 10 January 2012 at CES 2012.[7]

Devices were sent to the University of California San Diego to be independently tested on patients during the winter and spring of 2015, and again in late 2016 at the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute (ACTRI) at UCSD.

Final round

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The two teams to compete in consumer testing round:[8]

Teams selected

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The 10 teams to be selected to compete are: [4]

Conclusion of the contest

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In the end, no team met all the requirements needed to win the full prize purse for a minimally invasive health diagnostics system that could meet the guidelines of diagnosis set forth by the contest rules.

In April 2017 X PRIZE Foundation made the following awards for a total of $3.7 million:

  • $2.6 million to Final Frontier Medical Devices as the highest performing team
  • $1 million to Dynamical Biomarkers Group for second place
  • $100,000 to Cloud DX as the first Bold Epic Innovator, "in recognition of exponential technological progress in the field of consumer-focused medical technologies, and potential for expanding access to healthcare when deployed at scale".[9]

The rest of the original $10 million prize purse was diverted to ongoing consumer testing to get tricorder technology into the hands of patients ($3.8 million) and adapting tricorders for use in hospitals in developing countries ($1.6 million).[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "X PRIZE Foundation and Qualcomm Foundation Set to Revolutionize Healthcare with Launch of $10 Million Qualcomm Tricorder X PRIZE | X PRIZE Foundation". Xprize.org. January 10, 2012. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  2. ^ "The X PRIZE Foundation and Qualcomm Join Forces to Develop a Competition to Enhance Integrated Digital Health". XPRIZE. May 10, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Zehn Millionen Dollar für den "Star Trek"-Trikorder". Der Spiegel (in German). May 14, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Stevens, Tim (August 27, 2014). "Finalists selected for $10M Qualcomm Tricorder XPrize". CNET. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  5. ^ Hsieh, Paul (June 24, 2014). "8 Star Trek Technologies Moving From Science Fiction To Science Fact". Forbes. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Boyle, Alan (13 May 2011). "'Trek' tricorder could win $10 million". msnbc.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  7. ^ "Star Trek-style 'Tricorder' invention offered $10m worth prizes". BBC. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Top Two Teams Advance to Final Round". Tricorder XPrize. December 13, 2016. Archived from the original on May 20, 2017.
  9. ^ "About Us". CloudDX. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017.
  10. ^ "Dr. McCoy would be proud: Winner named in Qualcomm Tricorder XPrize". San Diego Union-Tribune. April 13, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
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