HealthHound

Inspiration

We were inspired by the amazing ability of trained service dogs to sniff biomarkers and symptoms of certain diseases, alongside their innate ability to sense wellness signals such as fatigue in their owners. Such a sharp sense of smell has saved lives, but as of now, remains un-replicated in a commercial wearable device.

What it does

The HealthHound ScensoRing is a wearable device that detects subtle chemical signals released by the human body. Using cutting-edge biomimetic scent sensor array inspired by dogs’ powerful sense of smell, the ring analyzes trace compounds near the user’s skin and breath. Users can perform instant scent scans, or turn on continuous monitoring. To complement the physical device, we provide the HealthHound app, which collects, analyzes, and visualizes readings from the ring. Here, users can view their baseline biomarkers, ScensoRing alerts (e.g. for heightened infection/inflammation risk, blood sugar, etc.), and health trends over time. Users can also connect directly to healthcare providers and submit their own reports. Following data privacy standards, HealthHound will not collect or distribute unauthorized medical data under any circumstance.

How we built it

The 3D model for the ScensoRing was created in Spline. The HealthHound app was created entirely in Figma Make, using its IDE and interface. We designed all supplementary graphics in Figma itself.

Challenges we ran into

All four team members were traveling at points throughout the weekend, which decreased the net number of hours available to build the app. We also considered going a more 'fictitious' route, and include capabilities to detect abstract emotions (i.e. nostalgia) and feelings via scent. However, we ultimately deemed these secondary to the in-demand functionalities of physical health monitoring.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Despite challenges with remote coordination and traveling, we were able to get together, create, and submit the project; this fact alone makes us proud. With all four members being part of HackDuke at Duke University, we are also happy to see that the creative and collaborative skills we acquired in our club duties translated to this project. We were able to align our visions, communicate effectively, and trust each other's abilities, all of which we are proud to have accomplished.

What we learned

No team member had any experience with Figma Make prior to this project; we learned practically everything about the tool, including some elements of front-end development, for which we are also novices. Additionally, as expected, we sharpened our rapid ideation and prototyping skills, particularly for design-oriented tasks. Lastly, we also learned quite a bit about dogs' sense of smell as well as how current wearable scent-based technologies are taking inspiration from this canine superpower.

What's next for HealthHound

As is the case for any medical tool, building a secure data pipeline and database for user data is paramount; this would be our next task for HealthHound. There are also many incomplete features, such as medical report generation, linking to healthcare providers, precise privacy settings, and detailed guides on each and every tracked metric, all of which we plan to implement.