Everyone has an emergency room story.

1) I had to wait five hours in the lobby before a doctor was available.
2) It took me forever to qualify my insurance coverage.
3) They couldn’t find a bed for me.
4) No one spoke English.

No matter what your complaint may be, we all agree that ERs are a necessity. I do have friends who suffer for days before they will go to the ER. I have other friends who look for ER alternatives like 24-hour, seven-day-a-week clinics. These places are popping up all over the country. ERs need relief. The doctors and nurses are overworked and underpaid for the true value they deliver.

You will be glad to know that now there is a new thing that puts an “emergency room in the palm of your hand.” All the details are in the video above.

Walter De Brouwer, the founder, came up with the idea for the first Star Trek-style medical scanner. The whole idea behind the Scanadu Scout is to capture the same information that is normally collected upon first entering the ER.

The Scanadu Scout is a clever, handheld sensor that measures your temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and oximetry just by holding a sensor to your temple for a few seconds, “almost like a salute.” It collects your body data by measuring electrical changes. The person’s data is recorded to an iOS or Android phone app. It’s designed to be used by the most non-technical person.

De Brouwer told CNET, a tech news site, that the availability of the Scanadu Scout means all of us should be taking our vitals when we are feeling good as well as when we hurt. We should think of our bodies as “a river of data.” If you know the state of your health today, then you can take better care of yourself. Why wait until you get into crisis?