Scanadu Scout: The Real-Life 'Star Trek' Tricorder – A Deep Dive Review and Investment Outlook

Scanadu is the first mobile health company in the United States to launch a portable, personal multi-vital signs monitor. In the summer of 2013, it launched the Scanadu Scout project on the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, attracting over 8,000 pre-orders and raising $1.6 million, making it one of the most successfully funded mobile health campaigns on Indiegogo that year. I have long been bullish on such multifunctional, medical-grade personal mobile medical devices. Upon discovering the Scanadu project, I was immediately impressed and promptly placed a pre-order, with delivery expected by spring 2014 according to the company’s projections.

Following the conclusion of the crowdfunding campaign, Scanadu successfully completed its Series A financing in November 2013, raising $10.5 million from investors including Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, which also validated my assessment at the time regarding the prospects for this category of products.

Scanadu shipped the first few hundred units to users between March and April 2014. However, due to serious issues with its epidermal temperature measurement function, all devices were quickly recalled, and the company announced that it needed to refine the product and delay shipments. In early 2015, the company announced the completion of mass production of prototypes and stated that products would be shipped to all Indiegogo crowdfunding backers in February and March, a full year behind schedule. On March 17, I finally received a Scanadu Scout. Below is my review after one week of continuous use from March 17 to 23, 2014. The smartphone used was an iPhone 6 Plus running iOS 8.1.3.

Product Packaging and Exterior Design:
The packaging offers few highlights, but the product design is quite impressive. It feels comfortable in hand and is very lightweight. No defects were found on the product itself, and the craftsmanship is excellent. The front end features three functional areas arranged from left to right: the power switch, the USB power interface, and the power indicator. The rear end, which comes into direct contact with the skin of the forehead, includes metal electrode sensors and an infrared emission module (for temperature measurement). There is also a metal sensor on the upper part of the device, likely used for measuring ECG and blood pressure.

Monitoring Indicators:
When launching its crowdfunding campaign in 2013, the company claimed that the device could measure eight parameters (with epidermal temperature and basal body temperature counted as two distinct parameters), including:
- Heart Rate
- Epidermal/Basal Body Temperature
- Blood Oxygen Saturation
- Respiratory Rate
- Blood Pressure
- ECG
- Emotional Stress

The actual situation is that the instrument can currently only detect the following four indicators:
- Blood Pressure
- Heart Rate
- Epidermal temperature
- Blood Oxygen Saturation
Several promised metrics remain unfulfilled. Notably, while the electrocardiogram (ECG) data is displayed on the screen during acquisition, it is not stored. Consequently, the accuracy of the single-lead ECG measurements cannot currently be assessed, nor can the clinical significance of this data be determined.

Usage Process:
Upon launching the app, users are first prompted to enable Bluetooth on their mobile device. Next, they should turn on the scanner using its power switch. The app then displays an instructional diagram guiding the user on how to correctly position the scanner for measurement. Once the device is properly placed, the interface transitions to the testing screen and initiates the measurement. During the process, the app interface displays the ECG signal and the measurement progress as a percentage. The entire measurement procedure lasts approximately 30–60 seconds. The user experience is favorable, characterized by simplicity and ease of use, requiring only four screens from app launch to completion of the measurement.

Upon completion of the measurement, the system automatically navigates to the results display page and indicates the status of the current test. For each measured parameter, a color-coded indicator on the right alerts the user to whether the result is within normal limits. Users can customize the reference ranges for each metric.

Analysis of Four Monitoring Indicators:
Default Values for the Measurement Ranges of Four Monitoring Indicators
- Blood pressure is categorized into five stages: low, normal, prehypertension, stage 1 hypertension, and stage 2 hypertension;
- Heart rate is categorized into three levels: low, normal, and high.
- Body temperature is categorized into three levels: low, normal, and high
- Blood oxygen saturation is categorized into two levels: normal and low

Historical Data Query and Analysis:
Historical data queries and trend analysis can be accessed through the app’s menu options. The trend analysis feature allows users to view historical data trends over daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly intervals, with color coding used to indicate whether values are within normal ranges. For demonstration purposes, the historical trend display shows one week of continuous data curves for blood pressure and heart rate.

Data Accuracy
As the product has not received FDA clearance, the vendor explicitly states that it is in the research and testing phase, and no data currently can serve as a basis for clinical diagnosis.

The author is in good health and has no history of chronic diseases; therefore, the assessment of data accuracy is purely subjective and lacks any scientific or statistical basis.
- Blood Pressure: All test results are within the normal range with minimal fluctuation;
- Heart rate: The author's resting heart rate is generally 55–60 beats per minute, and the Scanadu measurements are largely consistent with the actual conditions;
- Blood oxygen saturation: Within normal range with minimal fluctuation; one measurement recorded 91%, which falls within the red-flag abnormal range;
- Epidermal Body Temperature: During use, the author found that the body temperature measurement function requires further improvement, as there were multiple instances of failure to read body temperature over a week of continuous use. In 2014, Scanadu recalled all its products for reengineering due to significant issues with temperature measurement. Based on the current situation, there are still concerns regarding the reliability and accuracy of the body temperature measurement function.

Summary
As a pioneer in the field and the first commercially available product of its kind, this instrument represents a highly mature and well-refined personal health self-monitoring solution from both hardware and software design perspectives. From a user-centric standpoint, the product is simple, intuitive, and easy to operate, delivering an excellent user experience.

For a device that provides basic self-monitoring of vital signs, a critical function should be to assist users in interpreting abnormal readings. Currently, Scanadu can only make automatic judgments by setting standard parameter ranges. For all abnormal data, apart from alerting users with a color code that the measurement is irregular, it provides no additional information. For the vast majority of users lacking professional medical knowledge, it is essentially impossible to independently interpret abnormal measurement results. For example, during testing, one blood oxygen saturation reading was 91%, which the system automatically flagged in red as definitely abnormal. In such cases, as a user, I was unable to determine whether any immediate action was required in response to this abnormal result. If products of this type fail to effectively address this issue, their practical value for users is limited.

It should also be noted that the product offers poor support for multi-user scenarios; currently, it is not possible to establish multiple accounts for simultaneous use when two or more users share the device.
Although the current application scenarios for this product remain limited, it is believed that such products will become as ubiquitous as household thermometers are today.

Lu Jun, Vice President and Managing Partner for China at Vesalius Ventures, is a contributing expert columnist for VCBeat. Headquartered in Houston, USA, Vesalius Ventures focuses on early-stage venture capital investments in telemedicine, mobile health, and other healthcare technologies in both China and the United States. This article is published by VCBeat with authorization from Lu Jun.

For information on Vesalius Ventures in the United States, please refer toVB Insights Salon Series No. 2 | U.S.-Based Vesalius Ventures Shares Investment Philosophies and Success Stories in American Mobile Health