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Paoli Inventors Hopeful Medical Device Could Change Future For Doctors, Patients

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Star Trek fans know the "Tricorder" is a magical medical device that can read a person's vital signs and much more in just seconds. A group of inventors from Paoli, Chester County have made their own and it won them a nationwide contest with a prize worth about $3-million.

DxtER wraps around the patient's wrist and connects to fingertip sensors. The device measures body temperature and blood pressure and can even detect pneumonia and diabetes.

"We also would be able to, without drawing any blood, check your glucose and your hemoglobin and your white count," said Dr.Basil  Harris.

Dr. Harris has been an ER doctor for 12 years and he also has a degree in engineering.

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"This is something to make doctors jobs more efficient," he said.

He and the team Basil Leaf Industries of Paoli brought the product to Lankenau Medical Center for a trial.

"My reaction was 'Oh my God, this thing worked,' and patients love it," Harris said.

After winning the Qualcomm contest, now he says the real work begins.

"We're going through clinical trials to get FDA approval for each of the components of the kit so we can build up the kit and get this thing out there to market," Harris said.

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