Team:Concordia-Montreal/Human Practices
Contents:
1. Human Practices Overview
2. Integrated Human Practices
3. Integrated Ethics
4. Interviews
4. Outreach
1. Human Practices Overview
One of the goals of the iGEM competition is to think beyond the lab work into the ramifications that our research could have in the world at large. The focus of our human practices is to integrate ethics equality and responsible design into the execution of our project, while making synthetic biology accessible. We believe that all projects will in a way affect society, whether it be finished or not. As it was mentioned by one of our interviewers, science is not just about technique but what you do with your results. It is important to keep creativity alive in academia and to execute these ideas in the best way possible. To make these ideas safe and responsible for the world to ravish and enjoy.
We wanted to make a project that would solve real world problems with the potential to progress scientific discovery. Research done by our team has shown that most deaths related to opioids were caused by accidental overdosing due to laced recreational drugs. This substance being fentanyl. These deaths have driven down the life expectancy of Canada. This is an important problem that we have decided to address with synthetic biology. To ensure the ethical design and execution of our project we contacted several professionals that work or have worked in with users. The design of our questions and our approach was guided by information obtained from District 3 innovations. The feedback we received from these individuals helped us change the design and function of our product, tailoring it to the needs of the users and our target audience.Our target audience are individuals that use drugs recreationally and are aware of the crisis as well as those in recovery for addiction or being administered fentanyl medically, who could enter into a doctor/patient agreement. We have learned from research with other professionals that our group of targets is restricted to individuals who are organized to the point of wearing and Bluetooth pairing the device.
Ethical design was implemented through the development of the project. Integrated Ethics with Dr. Brandiff Caron allowed us to compare the design of our project to that of different case studies. This research helped us identify the strengths and short comings of similar projects that had been done in the past as to assess the faults and strengths of our own project.
Our team also has worked on outreaching to the community. Presentations and conversations at 4th Space, the CSU clubs fair and the Mini-Jamboree introduced our project to the student body and the public.
2. Integrated Human Practices
Quantifen V.1.0 A Colour change due to chromoprotein expression can be measured when the user takes a photo of the applied temporary tattoo. The colour change is visible to the public so they could help the user.
Quantifen V.2.0 The colour change is under the device, hidden and only available for overdose response services as a notification of fentanyl presence. Instead the alert is electrical. Communicating with your mobile device and overdose response services in the area. The device is also more discrete as a lifestyle wearable.
Considerations with respect to our design arose through diverse public interviewing and Real Time Technology Assessment. These considerations were brought back to our weekly meetings as public opinion and ethical considerations became part of our design process. For example, our initial design encompassed a patch which would change colour if fentanyl was detected, alerting others. We discovered through human practices that people did not want it to be public, so as to keep their illicit drug use private. We therefore put the colour change on the underside for first responders instead and focused more on the electrochemistry which could communicate with our app on your cellular phone. Interviews also brought to light new applications and customer bases, such as doctor/patient agreements for those being administered fentanyl medically or in rehabilitation for addiction.
Those are but a few examples of how Human Practices were Integrated into our design. Below we highlight the considerations with excerpts from interviews which changed our design path for the better.
Our project evolved in tandem with our public investigations. Through Integrated Ethics (see below) we were able to bring many considerations to the public so as to garner their opinion. Through interviews with questions structured responsibly for opinions, not guided answers, we gathered invaluable insight to our project and design. Bringing back this information to our weekly meetings, we adjusted and modified our design accordingly, making it stronger and as a surprise, with a broader audience than expected.
Integration of Human Practices allowed for the following improvements:- Our product become discrete and wearable, fitting into the world of 'Fitbit' design health and lifestyle monitors versus the original design as a patch
- The colour change is now under the device, hidden, for discretion. The customer does not want others to know they are doing drugs or overdosing.
- Our customer base expanded from recreational drug users to include doctor/ patient agreements encompassing monitoring patients being administered fentanyl and for monitoring patients in recovery due to integration of human practices. - The application does not contact emergency services as it is illegal. Rather it can pair with and contact safe party groups present at festivals, community workers or doctors in case of an overdose. These groups would have overdose delaying substances such as Naloxone or Narcan on hand. These party safe and overdose delaying groups were brought to our attention through interviewing.
- The application hosts features which can be added, such as including a map of opioid resources and centres in the area or facts on health and opioids. Through interviewing we discovered that one of the largest issues with accidental fentanyl overdose is the lack of awareness. We have therefore incorporated these features.
- The electrochemical component became much more important as the public found it to be a more effective signal. Some found a simple text message to be not enough and suggestions for alternate signals include a heavy vibration or construction of the arm, which can be adapted to our device in future development.
3. Integrated Ethics
4. Interviews
We began with an Interview and Entrepreneurial Workshop with Wassimy of D3 Innovations Center (D3 Innovation). We learned to formulate questions which would give us an expansive answer. To focus on the interviewee's personal experience. To ask questions about the past, rather than the future which can speculative and should be taken with a grain of salt. "Why did you do that?" "How come?" "How many times did you do it?" "Why?" "With who?" " For how long?". Find the problem and then assess the impact for them, "What were your biggest challenges?" "How did you solve them?". The workshop was invaluable in formulating interview questions.
Advice we found particularly useful was to not pitch your idea, but rather to seek the problem first. We sought their experiences and their point of view as to the problem surrounding fentanyl detection or accidental overdose. Only then we chose to describe our project and garner their opinion as to its design and applications.
Interview were made as to obtain the information of the development of our project and the compatibility this has with the needs of our target audience. Explore key insights in the full interviews linked below or through our Integrated Human Practices above.
Rehabilitation Center Montreal
Doctor, General Practitioner
Electronic Music Festival Organiser
Addictions Counselor at Outpatient Center
Social Worker at Community-Driven Addictions Center
Postdoc Fellowship
Kevin Chen, CEO, Hyasynth Bio
Synbio Professor
5. Outreach
Public Presentation at 4th Space for Accelerating Health: What's Technology's Role?
Thank you to Anna Waclawek for organizing the absolute pleasure of presenting along such talented people. Incredible research from the artificial cardiovascular systems of Lyes Kadem's lab to rocking bed studies by Aurore Perrault.
Clubs Fair and Student Outreach
