Tricorder.Zero™ vs. Competitors: Why This Device Stands Out in the Health Tech Space

Health tech is successful when it makes care more accessible and convenient. The most valuable health tech tools improve outcomes by breaking down the barriers that prevent patients from connecting with providers, empowering better outcomes by making care more efficient and affordable.

As traditional healthcare has become more challenging to access, health tech tools that empower patients have become a more attractive option. But patients must be selective as they seek out solutions, as some tools are more effective than others.

“Devices that don’t deliver accurate, clinical-grade data can’t be trusted,” says Marcus Soori, inventor of Tricorder.Zero™. “In fact, devices that aren’t reliable or designed with ease of use in mind can easily introduce new risks to the healthcare process.”

Soori is the Founder and CEO of O/D Vision, Inc. He began working on his health tech device over a decade ago while in medical school, drawing inspiration from the tricorder device used in the science fiction series “Star Trek” to gather and analyze health data. After years of refinement, including securing patent-pending status on 12+ novel concepts to be leveraged by the tool, Soori arrived at a design for Tricorder.Zero™ that provides users with unparalleled efficiency and affordability, and completed his first working prototype in 2023.

“As a former medical student and trained public health professional, I saw firsthand the struggles patients faced,” Soori says. “Statistics show that 40 percent of Americans, including those with substandard health insurance, cannot afford to see a doctor. My goal in developing Tricorder.Zero™ was to provide patients with an easy-to-use, affordable health and fitness tracker they could use regularly to take control of their health.”

Meeting monitoring needs with a multi-sensor device

Modern healthcare relies on gathering and tracking a wide variety of data points. Office visits typically involve taking readings on body temperature, heart rate, weight, and other metrics.

However, when patients can take their own readings, they dramatically improve the effectiveness of the healthcare process. Readings can be tracked at home to chart a patient’s progress and shared with doctors for analysis. An effective device empowers patients to become partners with their practitioners, providing them with the data needed to ensure treatment is effective.

Unfortunately, many devices on the market can’t provide patients with a comprehensive view of their health because they capture only specific data points, such as body temperature or heart rate. To get a complete picture, patients must invest time and money in obtaining and using multiple tools, but this process can be overwhelming and discouraging.

“Tricorder.Zero™ was designed to be the one tool patients need to achieve better health tracking,” Soori explains. “It includes seven sensors, all of which are fully integrated, that facilitate over 15 features. Without swapping out any modular sensors, users get immediate access to a high-magnification camera, an otoscope, an IR thermometer, a pulse oximeter, a stethoscope, an EKG sensor, and a body fat/muscle tone sensor.”

Encouraging engagement with an easy-to-use interface

Capability is only part of the challenge when it comes to developing health tech tools. In addition to providing a comprehensive suite of features, tools must also be easy to use. If usability is not considered, even the most powerful tools could end up being rejected by patients who encounter a confusing interface.

“As I was designing Tricorder.Zero™, I knew it needed to be user-friendly to be effective,” Soori recalls. “I didn’t want patients or fitness enthusiasts to get lost while trying to use the device, so I designed its sensors to all work with a simple tap of the screen. Activating the powerful sensors on Tricorder.Zero™ is just like opening an app on your smartphone’s home screen. It’s a process that virtually every patient is comfortable with from the start.”

Providing a health-tracking device without a subscription requirement

The key frustration many patients have about today’s healthcare system is its lack of affordability. For health tech to offer a viable alternative, it must clearly cut down on costs.

Subscription-required devices make it more difficult for users to determine upfront how much a device will cost them because they create an illusion of affordability by presenting costs in the context of a small monthly fee. They also introduce the possibility that costs may increase in the future, once users have become dependent on the services the device provides.

“A commitment to affordability is one of the driving forces behind Tricorder.Zero™,” Soori says. “Users have full access to the device's core features without any monthly fees.”

Today’s patients face a wide variety of challenges that prevent them from accessing the care they need. Health tech has the potential to address these challenges and create better care pathways for patients. Tricorder.Zero™ provides a model for effective health tech solutions, offering services that are efficient, affordable, and easy to use.