Real Trekkie tricorder detects ailments

New handheld medical scanners coupled with regular cell phones resemble "Star Trek" tricorders and could see what ails you with a push of a button.

The invention, using off-the-shelf cell phone technology, would allow medical scanners to boldly go where none have gone before — to the aid of the roughly three-quarters of the world's population currently without access to ultrasounds, X-rays and other imagers used for everything from detecting tumors to monitoring fetuses.

A "Star Trek" tricorder, left, and at right an image from a medical scanner of a simulated breast tumor displayed on a cell phone screen. Medical scanners plugged into cell phones could help detect cancer and other disorders. - msnbc