Non-Fungible Tokens for Organoids: Decentralized Biobanking to Empower Patients in Biospecimen Research
Introduction: Scientists use donated biospecimens to create organoids, miniature copies of patient tumors1 that are revolutionizing precision medicine2 and drug discovery. However, current biobanking platforms remove patient names to protect privacy, precluding communication of health information and research findings between bench and bedside3. We leverage tokenization, transparency, and privacy-preservation of blockchain technology to advance a decentralized biobanking prototype empowering patient engagement in organoid research.
Methods: We design and develop a proof-of-concept NFT framework4 for a simulated human cancer model research network. Our implementation deployed multiple smart contracts on Ethereum test networks which minted NFTs representing each stakeholder, biospecimen, and organoid, a NodeJS server using a Metamask wallet to interact with blockchain through an Infura hosted node, and a Flutter mobile application connected to a Firebase Database to demonstrate biobanking activities.
Results? Head here to find out: https://doi.org/10.30953/bhty.v7.303
- William Sanchez, BS | Software Engineer, de-bi, co., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Larue Linder | Undergraduate, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Robert C. Miller, MD, MBA, FRS | Researcher, Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, USA
- Amelia Hood, MS | Researcher, Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA
- Marielle S. Gross, MD, MBE | Founder/CEO, de-bi, co., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
