Berkeley Blockchain Incubator Welcomes Startup Fighting COVID-19

The Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator, an incubator program for distributed ledger technology, or DLT, startups run out of UC Berkeley, has welcomed Snark Health into its spring cohort.

Snark Health seeks to combat COVID-19 by “building a framework for data-driven discussions and shared learnings” to enable the “rapid dissemination of information to improve patient outcomes.”

Health startup fighting coronavirus joins UC Berkeley blockchain incubator

Snarks platform aims to facilitate the sharing of best practices and information regarding the coronavirus pandemic between individuals, non-governmental organizations, and government agencies at local, state, and national levels. Snark’s website states:

“There remain many unanswered questions in regards to the clinical, operational and financial aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the process of answering these critical questions, we are building a new framework while simultaneously laying the foundation for global triage support, improved access to health care services and clinical research.”

‘Hippocratic Coin’ monetizes medical data for patients and healthcare workers

Snark is currently in the process of rolling out an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data system for distribution information to communities that do not have access to a smartphone or the internet.

The startup plans to develop a “Virtual Health Community” and a distributed framework for clinical research.

Snark’s website also outlines plans for the development of a cryptocurrency that will allow doctors and patients to earn money through participating in Snark’s data monetization program, dubbed ‘Hippocratic Coin.’

Blockchain companies used to create open databases regarding COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted many applications for blockchain technology, including the benefits of transparent data repositories.

On March 27, the blockchain platform, Algorand, launched a global survey to inform an open database documenting the pandemic’s spread. Both sick and healthy individuals are encouraged to participate in the survey. Respondents are requested to update their responses over time and their condition or symptoms change. Each participant must respond from a single IP address.

In China, blockchain has been deployed to record medical records and medical supplies, and to create a transparent public database for tracking charitable donations.