Inspiration
What it does
Aim - To ease the lives of patients by making it easier to connect to donors from different parts of the world.
To create a safe and healthy space for patients suffering from various diseases by implementing a discussion forum to engage in conversations about health resources, nutrition etc.
To make a valuable contribution in the healthcare system by building features that helps to schedule appointments, fundraise for cancer patients, and increase access to accessible healthcare.
Features - User Authentication - User can sign up as a donor, or as a user to find a donor. An input validator is implemented to check if the username, password meet the given conditions, password encryption to ensure security using hash function in PHP. Eligibility Chatbot- The website bot checks eligibility if the user is eligible to donate blood. Potential feature- if the user can't donate due to restrictions, direct them to fundraising page. Connect user to donor based on location - Once the user selects their location from the database of 1700 Canadian cities provided, LifeConnect searches the donor database and finds the donor located closest to the given location. The matched donor is returned to the user who can accept the match which will then be stored in the matches database.
How we built it
Figma: To create prototypes and web layouts.
React, CSS and JavaScript: To build the structure and web pages of our website.
Python(pytorch): To implement our chatbot.
PHP and MySQL: To connect our front-end to the database structure containing users, donors, and matches.
Google Cloud: To host our website.
## Challenges we ran into
- Connecting PHP code with React for dynamic user authentication.
- Implementing additional (potential) features in a restricted constraint of time.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
- Despite of being an entry-level front end developers, we are proud of our backend aspect of programming.
- The long term vision of our project, is what we would like to mention.
What we learned
Great Question. Let's talk about soft skills. From planning the whole idea to executing it, we worked in a team. From one person making the prototype to another creating the database, we divided our tasks equally so that we can make most out of the 23 hours! Another main aspect of our learning has been that in the software industry, facing problems and coming out with innovative solutions is a regular thing.
What's next for LifeConnect
Increase inclusivity in trans healthcare: spread awareness about issues around access to healthcare for trans people, use the LifeConnect platform to support fundraising for trans causes.
Book an appointment feature: LifeConnect will have a feature where potential donors and users can book an appointment to meet virtually/online, patients can mark their important schedules in the LifeConnect calendar to get notficiations through email/message using Twilio API.
Implement features to help in healthcare research: Use Image processing tools and NLP features to contribute to the health care industry in research.
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