Tricorder A tricorder was a multifunction hand - held device useful for data sensing , analysis , and recording , with many specialized abilities which made it an asset to crews aboard starship s and space station s as well as on away mission s . ( ) The word itself is short for " tri - function recorder , " since it essentially consisted of three systems : the sensor array previously mentioned , a computer for the said analyses , and a recorder to store the data thus gathered . Tricorders were often useful for recording entries in personal or official logs . " Mr . Tricorder " was a joke made by Data in 2371 during an away mission aboard the Amargosa observatory following the installation of his emotion chip . He used a tricorder like a hand puppet and talked to Geordi La Forge . ( ) Background information . According to Stephen Whitfield in " The Making of Star Trek " , Gene Roddenberry originally came up with the idea of the tricorder not only as a useful device but as " a potentially popular toy for female - type children . " In the final draft script of , a tricorder was used by Spock to ascertain that McCoy wasn ' t dead . In the final version of that episode , however , no device is used by Spock upon determining that conclusion . In the documentary " Star Trek : Beyond The Final Frontier " , Brannon Braga ironically states that , although he didn ' t know what tricorders do , " " they were probably used a little too often . " " Recalling how the tricorders in were designed , Aaron Harberts described them as " super - important [ . . . ] key props " that " nobody wanted to really change . " Real - world devices . The first " real - world " tricorder was developed by a Canadian company called Vital Technologies Corporation in 1996 . The scanner was called the TR - 107 Mark 1 ; Vital Technologies sold 10 , 000 of them before going out of business in 1997 . The TR - 107 could scan EM radiation , temperature , and barometric pressure . The TR - 107 is properly referred to as a true " tricorder " due to a clause in Gene Roddenberry ' s contracts with Desilu / Paramount dating back to the time of " The Original Series " . The clause specified that if any company could find a way to make one of the fictional devices actually work , then they would have the right to use the name . Many research laboratories are developing , or have developed , portable scientific analyzers . For example , in February 2007 , researchers from Purdue University publicly announced their portable ( briefcase - sized ) DESI - based mass spectrometer , the Mini - 10 , which could be used to analyze compounds in ambient conditions without prior sample preparation . This was also announced as a " real - life tricorder " in later press releases . Truly hand - held devices , based on lab - on - a - chip systems , are also in development . These are typically more specialized than the " Star Trek " equivalent ; however , it is believed that biomarker analysis will allow the development of a general - purpose medical instrument in the near future . Sandia National Laboratories in the US is a major center for lab - on - a - chip research , and have developed many handheld instruments for biological or chemical analysis . In May 2008 , researchers from Georgia Tech publicly announced their portable hand - held multi - spectral imaging device , which aids in the detection of the severity of an injury under the skin , including the presence of pressure ulcers , regardless of lighting conditions or skin pigmentation . The day after the announcement , technology websites including Inside Tech and The Future of Things began comparing this device to the " Star Trek " tricorder . In October 2009 , researchers from NASA showed their prototype for a device that detects deadly gases in the air ; it contains a chip the size of a postage stamp connected to an iPhone . A mobile medical imaging lab that operates using inexpensive mobile phones was demonstrated in 2009 . In April 2017 , a seven - member , self - funded team took first place in the international Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition . Their entry consists of several parts that are used with a tablet . It exceeds the design goal by being able to help a layperson walk through the process of diagnosing thirty - four medical conditions . The tricorder is called DxtER ( pronounced Dexter ) and the team is looking forward to evaluation and testing by the U . S . A . Food and Drug Administration . More information is here .