Eggschain Secures First Patent for Tracking Genetic Material via Blockchain
AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Eggschain, a healthcare technology company that combines genetics and blockchain to track genetic material, today announced its pioneering, patented solution for tracking and tracing the storage and transfer of blood, genome, tissues, organs, DNA, RNA, sperm, eggs, embryos, and other biospecimens. This new supply chain solution aims to provide a universal tracing and tracking platform to deliver peace of mind for people and families undergoing IVF, and the professionals who until now have relied on a high-touch, low-tech approach that is arduous and inconsistent. Eggschain’s technology provides newfound clarity and thorough insight for medical professionals into the supply chain, from initial donation to testing, transfer and storage of the biospecimen.
Eggschain is the first patented blockchain-based biospecimen management and monitoring system that makes the IVF process more stable, transparent, and trackable for patients. This system maintains the confidentiality of patients’ personal information and allows clinics to securely and safely track the locations of biological specimens through a digital chain of custody. This allows for complete transparency and integrity during the process of IVF and prevents life altering mistakes such as supply loss and wrongful billing of patients. Eggschain’s provenance technology will be used by fertility clinics, hospitals, cryogenic centers, and medical labs for screening genetic material.
“The technology such as developed by Eggschain has not existed before in the field of reproductive medicine. Blockchain is an incredibly powerful technology that allows for secure recording and tracking of data, and the implications for medical data and specimens are tremendous,” said Hugh S. Taylor, MD, Chair of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale University. “With infertility increasing globally along with the ability to store biological materials, Eggschain will enable patients to monitor and follow their biologic specimens. Eggschain provides secure and safe tracking of embryos, eggs and sperm, so that their location and integrity are always confidently verified and easily assured.”
Eggschain is a female-founded and -owned company created by Wei Escala, a software engineer whose passion for women’s health drove her to develop a secure platform to provide transparency and peace of mind for people and families undergoing the emotional and physical demands of IVF. As CEO of Eggschain, Wei has built an all-star team of collaborators comprising technologists, business leaders, physicians and scientists, with a focus on continuing to develop game-changing innovation for patients, doctors, clinics and labs through the Eggschain platform.
“Our eggs, sperm, organs and other biospecimens are uniquely personal and therefore precious, yet until now the average person hasn’t had a consistent and secure way to track location and movement. Even clinics and labs have lacked a universal tracking mechanism, creating unnecessary paperwork and leaving room for human error,” said Wei Escala, CEO and founder of Eggschain. “Eggschain uses the first patented blockchain technology to bring professional grade information and data to the individual in a convenient and secure format, and also simplifies and improves the tracking process for labs, ensuring they are secure and inspection-ready.”
Eggschain uses the Stacks blockchain, which allows people to build decentralized applications for Bitcoin, to secure genetic data in an immutable and transparent fashion. This powerful solution to genetic materials tracking helps healthcare professionals maintain a thorough record of the journey each biospecimen has taken and helps mitigate any possible mix ups.
Eggschain recently joined a cohort of 25 blockchain developers being supported by The Stacks Foundationthrough the Stacks Accelerator Program. The intensive three-month program is backed by a leading coalition of Stacks partners, including the Stacks Foundation, Hiro Systems, Freehold, and Daemon Technologies, which have committed an initial $4M USD to support more than one hundred early-stage crypto technology entrepreneurs with funding, mentorship, and access to the incredible community of Stacks developers.
For further information about Eggschain, please visit https://eggschain.com/.
About Eggschain, INC.
Eggschain is a healthcare technology company and thought leader in the fertility, health tech, family-building and cryogenic preservation industries. Patent-granted and cloud-based, Eggschain is the first blockchain-integrated inventory management and chain of custody technology for tracking bio specimens, including sperm, eggs, embryos, genome, stem cell, tissues and organs, and other genetic material. In partnership with several of the world’s leading experts in reproductive biology, endocrinology and high complexity labs, Eggschain delivers medical grade information and data to individuals undergoing IVF in a secure, transparent and universally trackable format, and also provides the means for clinics to monitor their inventory, either personal, such as oocytes and sperm, or lab-related, including equipment inventory and maintenance scheduling. At its core, Eggschain strives to enable better decision-making, preserving the hope of life and helping to advance humanity.
About Stacks
Secure smart contracts and apps for Bitcoin. The Stacks ecosystem is a collection of independent entities, developers, and community members working to build a user-owned internet on Bitcoin. The Stacks 2.0 blockchain extends the design of Bitcoin to enable secure apps and predictable Clarity smart contracts without modifying Bitcoin itself, opening innovation on the network for the first time. The Stacks cryptocurrency (STX) is used as fuel for networking activity and contract execution and can be locked by STX holders via ‘Stacking’ to earn Bitcoin (BTC) rewards for supporting blockchain consensus. Stacks cryptocurrency was distributed to the general public through the first-ever SEC qualified token offering in US history.