Inventor builds a `Star Trek` medical tricorder-like device to measure vitals

The legendary 'Tricorder' from the movie Star Trek is now a real medical device that can scan your vitals. In 2013, Walter De Brouwer, a Belgian entrepreneur, came up with the idea after his son suffered brain damage from a fall. He then raised US $1.6 billion from through crowdsourcing platform Indiegogo to fund a medical device that worked like the Star Trek tricorder. Brouwer even named it after the grumpy doctor who used in on the iconic show, the "McCoy Home Health Tablet," the CNN reported.

The Scanadu Scout, as the device is called, works by placing it on a patient's forehead. In a matter of seconds, a sensor measures vitals such as heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, and oxygen levels. It even provides a complete ECG reading. The readings are beamed to the connected app on your smartphone via Bluetooth, which then points out any measures that are out of the ordinary. The device is will be shipped to it's backers in march, but won't be available for retail until it clears FDA regulations. You can find out more about the Scanadu Scout here.