Genobank, a blockchain firm that seeks to offer users ownership and control of their DNA data, is in the process of launching Agerona, an open-source app that is designed to help people access anonymous coronavirus testing. The app is set to be launched on EOS-based blockchain platform Telos.
Telos also said in an announcement that Agerona, which is expected to launch this month, will offer users the option of sharing the results of their coronavirus tests with healthcare organizations.
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The app will store DNA and coronavirus data (in addition to other healthcare data) on the Telos blockchain. Genobank is planning on introducing a token that allows information to be shared. Therefore, in addition to the app, the project also involves the development of “a processing interface for laboratories, a privacy-ensuring blockchain architecture, and sourcing and logistics solutions for low-cost COVID-19 tests and processing.”
There are also plans to launch an experimental feature in which artificial intelligence-based diagnostic tools will be used to analyze sound clips of people coughing.
“People have the right to know if they have the coronavirus without violating their privacy.”
Agerona is slated to be of particular use to individuals who may feel unsafe getting tested in more conventional ways, such as undocumented workers. Indeed, illegal immigrants the world over may be avoiding testing centers because of fears of getting deported or arrested.
Therefore, for Daniel Uribe, the chief executive of Geobank, the primary mission of the project is to provide a private and secure method of being tested for the coronavirus.
“People have the right to know if they have the coronavirus without violating their privacy,” Uribe said in a statement.
The project was originally built for use in the United States but has also garnered contributors in the UK, Israel, and Iran, with hopes to expand into even more countries.
There have been other examples of blockchain companies working to develop projects that can be used to fight the spread of COVID-19. Last month, blockchain firm Algorand launched ‘IReportCovid,’ a survey app that encourages respondents with and without the virus to repeatedly take tests to track the spread and symptomatic patterns of the coronavirus.
Cointelegraph reported that the Chinese government had used blockchain to “track and aggregate” healthcare data throughout the spread of the coronavirus.