Israeli's chemical scanner able to read makeup of food, medicine.

An Israeli inventor has created a scanner that he says could change the way we shop and take care of ourselves—by reading the chemical makeup of foods, drugs and other items we use.

The tiny gadget is still limited to a few key applications. But creator Dror Sharon envisions a machine that will compile a massive collection of data that will allow users to analyze the physical matter that exists around them.

Israeli's chemical scanner could change shopping

His gadget, called the SCiO, is an infrared spectrometer the size of a thumb drive. It is being marketed for three applications—food, pharmaceuticals and horticulture, or the health of plants. Simply by pointing and clicking a miniature digital wand, users can see how many calories are in a piece of cheese or determine when a tomato will reach peak ripeness.

These features may seem more fun than life-changing at this point. But ultimately, advocates say, the SCiO could have life-saving uses, such as identifying contaminated foods or determining whether a drug is counterfeit.

This is great news.

The more tech we have to scan the molecular make up of foods and items, the better, in my opinion. It's good to know that an item that gives people the power to actually know what they are eating, is coming to consumers in the near future. I imagine it could come in handy regarding GMO products too...

The item was funded on Kickstarter, and is expected to hit shelves next year, at a price of $299.

a reply to: daaskapital

Wow-sounds almost like a star trek tri-corder!
Great device both for shoppers and folks who grow their own food.
I want one already-and $299 isn't that expensive-especially as the price will probably drop if the product does well.

Great sounding idea.

a reply to: daaskapital

What a clever and innovative device to design and make. Fantastic and what a service to people to help them help themselves healthwise. Many can't read the small print on the labels so a device that gives you the correct information you need is badly needed amd will help so many - allergy suffers, people having to watch their blood pressure, cholesterol levels, diabetics the use just on the health side of is listless and all I can say is well done and thank you.

I am also wondering what else Dror Sharon has in his mind to design.

The way they explain it, whatever data is gathered from the scans is sent to their "cloud" that does the analysis and sends you back the information. I wouldn't use this device to scan anything illicit...

Wow it seems to good to be true. I mean it could be used to identify explosives hidden in a backpack.

it,ll be a nice little toy for simple scans but it,ll probably be limited by resolution and computing power to read the spectrum for fine traces. for things like measuring calories it,ll have to measure weight, volume and temperature etc

a reply to: daaskapital

I want one.

F&S&