Visualant enters Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition with ChromaID

IMAGE: Visualant's ChromaID technology is being applied to health sensing opportunities, and also will be entered into the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition. (Image credit: Visualant)

Seattle, WA--Chromatic-based identification and diagnostic solutions company Visualant is entering into the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE (http://www.qualcommtricorderxprize.org/), a global competition to revolutionize healthcare. In this competition, teams will leverage technology innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence and wireless sensing--much like the medical Tricorder (http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/2013/05/xprize-teams-with-open-photonics-on-handheld-diagnostic-device.html) of Star Trek fame--to make medical diagnoses independent of a physician or healthcare provider. The goal of the competition is to drive development of devices that will give consumers access to their state of health in the palm of their hand.

Professor Tom Furness (Chairman of Visualant's scientific advisory board) is leading a team of students and researchers applying Visualant's ChromaID technology (http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/print/volume-49/issue-01/world-news/spectrophotometry-chromaid-scanner-challenges-traditional-spectrophotometry.html) to health sensing opportunities. Professor Furness has considerable experience in the development of sensing technologies, having received the 2001 Satava Award (with the University of Washington HIT Lab) for advances in medical technology and in 1998 the Discover Award for Technological Innovation for his ground-breaking Virtual Retinal Display technology.

"The Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE provides a great catalyst for our research team to apply our ChromaID technology to enhance mobile healthcare devices," said Ron Erickson, president and CEO of Visualant. "We are also excited about the potential to collaborate with other teams through the framework provided by the XPRIZE organization."

The Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE is a $10 million global competition to stimulate innovation and integration of precision diagnostic technologies, making reliable health diagnoses available directly to "health consumers" in their homes.

The Visualant Spectral Pattern Matching (SPM) technology directs structured light onto a substance, through a liquid/gas, or off a surface, to capture a unique ChromaID. When matched against existing databases, a ChromaID can be used to identify, detect, or diagnosis markers invisible to the human eye. ChromaID scanner modules can be integrated into a variety of mobile or fixed-mount form factors. Visualant entered into a one year Joint Development Agreement on May 31, 2012 with Sumitomo Precision Products that focuses on the commercialization of the SPM technology and a License Agreement providing Sumitomo with an exclusive license of the SPM technology in identified Asian territories.

SOURCE: Visualant; http://www.visualant.net/press/Visualant_Entering_$10_Million_Qualcomm_Tricorder_XPRIZE.pdf