Why is the first medical tricorder coming from a startup, Scanadu, and not a med-tech giant?

At the Dublin Web Summit last week, I met Sam de Brouwer, co-founder of one of the most interesting startups of the past couple of years, Scanadu.

Following its successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, Scanadu’s Scout tricorder is set to go to market in March 2014. The aim is to get one of these groundbreaking, Star Trek-esque devices into every home’s first aid box. ‘Disrupting the thermometer market’, if you will – one of these can tell you far more detailed information about your vital signs.

Even more interestingly, the forthcoming Scanaflo urine test kit will allow you to measure the things like your liver function and kidney function with the aid of a smartphone app.

De Brouwer told me the story behind Scanadu’s mission as I asked her why this kind of innovation is coming from a startup rather than a medical technology giant.