Team:Thrace/Implementation

INTRODUCTION

SaliCa’s main goal is to save as many lives as possible. Widespread testing in the affected population is crucial for this. The main way to increase the compliance with the colorectal cancer screening regimen (and therefore the testing percentage) is by convincing more people to get screened for colorectal cancer. We can achieve our aim through making the device attractive to the consumer. Absence of invasiveness and easy access to the device are characteristics that can impel people to get tested and take action on their health.

END USERS

Given that all people older than 50 years old (sometimes even younger) are advised to get screened for colorectal cancer, there is a huge population in need of screening methods. Also, it is true for many countries that examinations for colorectal cancer are expensive and therefore aimed at the minority of the population. SaliCa is here to satisfy the need for inexpensive testing methods. Thus, it allows people of low income to get screened frequently and protect their health like people of higher income.

IMPLEMENTATION

SaliCa will be available for purchase at any pharmacy and even in supermarkets. Anyone will be able to obtain the device at any time and use it from the comfort of their own home. SaliCa will be easy to use, including detailed instructions and it will only require the user’s sample and a light source from a mobile phone to produce the result. The device is safe to use at home, as it doesn’t involve any microorganisms or harmful materials.

In the case of a positive result, the patient is advised to visit their doctor for further examinations. The device itself isn’t meant to be used as a sole diagnostic method, but it can ring alarm bells so that the test taker takes action and visits their doctor. The same goes for a negative result. If a patient for example takes the test and it is negative, but they have alarming symptoms, then they shouldn’t just rely on the test.

Apart from its use for regular screening at home, SaliCa has another potential use. A postoperative application of the diagnostic technique is possible for patients who have undergone surgery for colorectal cancer and require monitoring to check for a potential relapse. This would make postoperative monitoring much easier, requiring less doctor visits and thus less inconvenience for the patient.

Overall, the device aims to be accessible to people of different backgrounds or socioeconomic status, so as to bridge the gap between different societal classes and widen our outreach. Our goal is to increase the percentage of the population that gets tested by creating a device that is appealing and accessible to the consumer.

As a future perspective towards the application of the device in everyday life, we aspire for our design to improve not only in accuracy, but also in the realm of disease it screens for. Due to its modularity, SaliCa can be readily adjusted to detect more biomarkers. This makes the future of SaliCa bright and it paves the way for a new diagnostic era.

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