Pink Links

We developed a solution backed by blockchain to raise funds for breast cancer NGOs. We also connect patient with survivors to help them go through a hard time by matching volunteer service.

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Inspiration

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in American women. As data scientists, we all learn our very first few classification models on the Breast Cancer Wisconsin dataset. As models as algorithms grow stronger, the AI companies continue to improve the last several percent of accuracy in diagnosis. But we have more to do on the psychological and fundraising sides of the process. In this endeavor, we design a platform that spreads awareness of breast cancer and provides fundraising channels leveraging blockchain technology.

What it does

PinkLinks is a fundraising platform for breast cancer supporting campaigns and an NPO that helps patients to get information. By using ethereum as the donation channel, it allows donors to choose where their money goes and retrieve the rest of their money to improve the work of breast cancer support organizations. It provides funds and also grants power for donors to supervise money usage. As an NPO, it provides a supportive community for participants to share their stories about their experiences. Through the process, we match up survivors with people who need guidance and comfort, including potential patients, families, and people who are curious. Additionally, allies of the cause can gain insights about breast cancer from PinkLink's updated statistics. PinkLinks' platform opens its arms to breast cancer patients, survivors, and allies.

How we built it

Our business analyst conducted solution research that compares the current fundraising platforms like Making Strides. Then came with the software specifications including system scopes and functionality. We identified the key four participants in the whole process and integrated them into our blockchain smart contracts. On the other side, our data analyst started with regional data exploratory analysis using tableau in New York State. The demographic data was fetched from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program ranging from 2000 to 2016, which our data analyst used to forecast the 2017 cases. The geographical visualization is at the granularity of counties. It helps patients to get a broad picture of their region cases and grow confidence in facing the process with our volunteers. Our front-end developers created the PinkLinks website, which combines the visualization, community entrance, discussion board, and donation solution backed by blockchain. Firstly, the "Home Page" will consist of breast cancer information and recent statistics. The "Create an Account" tab will allow individuals to sign up to be a member and choose to upload their breast cancer results or information. The "Discussion Forum" serves its purpose as an open space where ideas, experiences, & stories are shared to educate and spread breast cancer awareness. "One-on-One Matching" ensures that individuals can connect with one another in hopes of gaining, knowledge, guidance, support, etc. For donation, individuals can choose the pre-qualified campaigns to donate and contribute to the community in the "Donation" tab. PinkLinks' main goal is to spread breast cancer awareness and our team ensured to get this point across through our presentation.

Challenges we ran into

First of all, We were initially two teams where both our teammates quit at the beginning of the hackathon. It cost us two days to start a new team. Secondly, It’s the first time for most of us to take part in a hackathon. The time window is truly short for a blockchain project design and implementation, letting alone that we’re going through a virtual hackathon. The sharing of ideas and input across disciplines is another challenge. However, we managed to overcome the time zones and find a way everyone can contribute to the project and deliver a working demo and website for a broad picture.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

In four days, we were able to deliver a simplified blockchain design including market research, smart contracts, and a demonstration website, which could cost a month usually. Also, we have a roadmap for future implementation for PinkLinks. Our team was also diverse in our majors and fields of study, so we were able to master different aspects of the projects. Our business analyst built up the BP; Our data analysts handled data engineering, EDA, and dashboard embedding; Our laying out a presentation, and developing a future plan. Our coders spent their time designing and constructing the website. Hence, we are proud to say that we worked hard to deliver our best input given the circumstances.

What we learned

The remote hackathon definitely requires professionalism for each of the team members. We learned more about breast cancer through the data exploratory process and develop skills on how to collaborate online, with technical issues. And even though we haven’t been able to finish an all-rounded solution and deploy, it’s a big leap trying to bridge the gap between ideas in course and implementation in the real world. The knowledge we learned from the hackathon and our project prepared us for a bigger challenge in the future.

What's next for PinkLinks

Field deployment with related NPOs in NY states and further improvement on UI design of PinkLinks' website for different interfaces.

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