Is there a doctor in the house? In a few years there could be one in your pocket. The X Prize Foundation last week announced 10 finalists in its $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize competition to create a mobile consumer device that can diagnose 16 medical conditions, from anaemia to urinary tract infection, and monitor five vital signs, including blood pressure and respiratory rate. Launched in 2012, the prize has encouraged teams around the world to develop high-tech home-diagnosis kits inspired by Star Trek's tricorder, a handheld device that gives a diagnosis when simply waved over a person's body. The rules state that the finalists will have to demonstrate their devices on humans next year. Three winners are due to be announced in 2016, with prizes of $1m, $2m and $7m. So are these latest bits of sci-fi tech, such as that produced by Silicon Valley-based firm Scanadu (pictured), poised to leap into the real world? And what techniques will they use?
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