Qualcomm and X PRIZE Launch $10m Tricorder X PRIZE

The X PRIZE Foundation, the non-profit organization which aims to solve major global challenges by creating and managing large-scale, incentivized competitions, has announced a collaboration with Qualcomm to design the Tricorder X PRIZE, a $10m(£6.2m) prize to develop a mobile solution that can diagnose patients better than, or equal to, a panel of board-certified physicians.

The X PRIZE Foundation and Qualcomm say they will seek to achieve this by combining advancements in expert systems and medical point of care data such as wireless sensors, advancements in medical imaging and microfluidics (don’t ask, or if you have to ask, Google it – Ed.)

The Tricorder X PRIZE aims to incentivize consumer empowerment in healthcare by extending the reach of health information and services to more people. The companies say the prize will bring understandable, easily-accessible health information and metrics to consumers on their mobile devices, pointing them to earlier actions for care.

The collaboration between the two companies will bring together experts in technology usability, wireless sensors, cloud computing and mobile health to accelerate the convergence of these fields. The winning tool will enable consumers in any location to quickly and effectively assess health conditions, determine if they need professional help and answer the question: “What do I do next?”

“For years, Qualcomm has been transforming lives by connecting people through incredible technologies,” saidys Dr. Peter Diamandis, chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation. “The X PRIZE Foundation is honoured to work with Qualcomm to positively affect health consumers by developing a prize that will revolutionize consumers’ access to health data and information.”

Don Jones, vice president of wireless health strategy and market development at Qualcomm Labs, says he believes the competition is a fundamental step in helping people become true Health Consumers who can have as much say in assessing and accessing healthcare as they would any other service or product.

“Qualcomm believes the value of this X PRIZE is also in changing the cost structure and focus of healthcare,” says Jones. “By having consumers take the initial actions to obtain health assessment data, the use and the quality of physicians time is improved.”

Previous X PRIZE Foundation prizes include the $10m Ansari X PRIZE for private, suborbital space flight; and the $2m Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X PRIZE CHALLENGE for advanced rocket development. Active prizes include the $30m Google Lunar X PRIZE.