US firm Scanadu has announced updates to its Scout device (pictured), which monitors a user’s vital signs, as well as launching a campaign on the Indiegogo crowdfunding site, both moves in its bid to win Qualcomm’s $10 million Tricorder X contest.

The company has tweaked the design of the device, which monitors temperature, respiratory rate, oximetry, ECG, blood pressure and stress, so that it can be used to measure the vital signs of others, not just the device’s owner.

In addition, readings will now be collected through a single, integrated app. And the device has increased its computing power too.

The first 1,000 participants in the Indiegogo campaign can purchase the device for $149.

Late arrivals will have to pay more, $199, which is also the anticipated final retail price when the Scout is released in Q1, 2014.

The Indiegogo campaign is also a data-gathering exercise. Participants will provide feedback on feasibility and useability, which the company hopes will aid its effort to receive FDA approval.

Qualcomm’s contest, which is also backed by the X Prize Foundation, is designed to encourage the development of personal health monitoring devices. The aim is to find a device that can accurately diagnose 15 diseases across 15-30 patients in the space of three days.  The contest was announced at the 2012 CES event in Las Vegas and the winner will not be chosen for another two years.