Medical Tricorder Market

Medical Tricorder – Potential Disruptor Underway

The Medical Tricorder Market  is valued at USD 5.5  Bn in 2026 and is projected to reach USD 9.4  Bn,  growing at a CAGR of 7.80% by 2033.Penetration of next-generation technologies in the healthcare industry, and emergence of tools such as electronic medical records (EMR) have made the concept of tricorder potentially the next step towards the future, for the healthcare industry. A sci-fi-inspired, handheld device that can potentially scan patients, read their vital signs, and diagnose any medical problems in a matter of minutes, a medical tricorder is a next-generation medical device that would demand no blood tests, X-rays, or genetic sequencing for diagnosis of virtually any health condition.

It has been a human tendency to find out what exactly is going on inside the body irrespective of whether or not the symptoms that are being experienced are severe. Even minor irritations may become a concern to many. However, at this point in time, the only way to find out the same is to see a doctor. What if there was a gadget that could offer an instant, reliable home diagnosis? The answer could be the medical tricorder, a portable sensing, data analysis, and data communications device (handheld gadget filled with technology goodness, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify a disease by its symptoms. The method would be non-invasive. The word tricorder specifically means the tri-function recorder - sensing, computing, and recording. Within moments of collecting data, the app would deliver diagnosis to indicate whether or not it detected any illness. The impact of tricorders will be a potential disruptor in the world of healthcare. The medical tricorder market is being increasingly perceived as the next leg of growth of the medical, and healthcare industries.

Medical Tricorder: A Ray of Hope for Better Healthcare

A huge variety of devices has been developed to support the medical professionals with diagnosing various types of diseases. Each type of disease has a distinct device, and the operations of such a device are exclusively known to practitioners. There is no standalone device which is capable enough to diagnose different types of health conditions, while the medical tricorder is being seen as a solo device effective enough to diagnose several health conditions instantly, and with a great ease. The device could be as handy as a smartphone and instead of expensive machines, and long waiting times, the desired information would be available immediately.

The device would be able to work in absence of the Internet, smartphones, and/or computers as it specifically targets the population that lacks the availability of all such technology aids. It would be a mobile device capable of ensuring self-management, self-diagnosis, and self-monitoring, and would allow patients to focus on prevention than cure, as well as promote self-management than self-care. With affordable, portable, easily accessible, and user-friendly healthcare devices, and equipment in all the rage, the medical tricorder market will highly likely see a promising growth outlook. However, the basis for new devices is not to replace physicians but to educate, and create awareness among the population about their own health. It could be useful when diagnosis needs a second opinion before confirmation, or when the standard laboratory equipment is not available.

Digital Health Utopia

Nearly half of the world’s population lacks access to essential health services. Roughly 41 million people die each year duo non-communicable diseases (equivalent to 71% of all deaths globally) such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic lung disorders. Over 5.2 million children under the age of five years die from malnutrition, and mostly preventable diseases, each year. Tuberculosis is also the cause of approximately 1.6 million deaths each year. Moreover, 2.6 million people annually die from pneumococcal disease, more than a third of the victims are children. Malaria also recorded around 410,000 deaths in 2019, whereas 36.2 million are living with HIV.

Underdeveloped economies, and regions that fall under conflict zones need access to healthcare even in absence of a doctor, nurse, or any other professional healthcare provider. Vital signs monitoring has become significantly important and its role in diagnosis, and treatment is growing at an exploding pace. The medical tricorder would come handy where there is dearth of access to healthcare facilities – remote locations that lack medical infrastructure, and reliable supervision. Only technology can bring this to us and make it so simple that even a naïve can handle it; make biomarkers easy to understand.

The Precedence

In 2006, a distant cousin of the tricorder, NASA’s Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System (LOCAD-PTS) was introduced for use in the International Space Station. The LOCAD was designed to identify bacteria and fungi in mere minutes. Monitoring bacteria on the International Space Station is central to the health of crewmembers there. Other advances in real-time personal health monitoring include new developments in photoplethysmography (PPG), an electro-optic technique for measuring the cardiovascular pulse wave. Portable applications of PPG readers in the form of earphones or wristwatches are becoming common.

The first working medical tricorder is the Scanadu Scout. Viatom Technology in China released CheckMe in 2014. Vitaliti from CloudDx measures the same and sends data to the cloud. It lets users know about posture, physical activities and vital signs. The US researchers just announced a new sensor that can be worn on the chest and tracks biochemical and electrical signals in the human body. It provides real-time data on electrocardiogram (EKG) heart signals and levels of lactate, a biochemical that helps to chart physical effort.

In the global medical tricorder market key companies are

• Qualcomm Incorporated
• Cisco Systems, Inc.
• XPRIZE Foundation (Tricorder XPRIZE competitors)
• Scanadu (formerly active in tricorder-style devices)
• BQ (Physio-CHECK)
• AliveCor, Inc.
• CardioComm Solutions, Ltd.
• Withings (Éric Carreel)
• iHealth Labs, Inc.
• Masimo Corporation
• Philips Healthcare (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Medtronic plc
• Siemens Healthineers AG
• GE HealthCare Technologies Inc.
• Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Global Medical Tricorder Market Segmnetation

By Type

• USB camera
• Fiber optic camera
• Wireless
• Corded
• Others

By Application  

• Diagnosis
• Monitoring
• Other

By   End User    

• Hospitals
• Clinics
• Others

By Region

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East and Africa