OrChID-Bio: Organs-on-a-Chip with Integrated Detection of Bioluminescence; Healthcare Privacy in the Artificial Intelligence Age

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. - Albert Einstein. Technology may be questioned and scrutinized, but can also be used positively, such as in medical contexts. OrChID-Bio (Organs on a Chip with Integrated Detection of Bioluminescence) is a technology that allows researchers to design organ systems on a microchip and measure data real-time using bioluminescence. This allows advancements in gene expression measurement from stimuli like drug treatments and viral modifications. The data that can be gathered from OrChID- Bio creates a whole new method of personalized medicine, allowing for data to be analyzed by technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). The STS topic being looked at is the ethics of artificial intelligence in regards to healthcare, privacy looking specifically at what considerations need to be made for privacy with certain populations. This is important as AI is becoming more prominent in healthcare industries, and data is essential to its use; making sure how people view AI will be essential to its deployment. OrChID-Bio and health care privacy go hand in hand, as OrChID- bio is designed to collect patient specific data. This data can then be analyzed using tools such as AI, and using patient specific information bring sup privacy concerns, which is why the ethics behind AI privacy must be understood.
Real time measurement of data can be difficult and limited in biology. Many molecules cannot be measured due to size constraints or rapidly changing environments. In comes OrChID -Bio, an organ on a chip technology that allows for the real time collection of bioluminescence, a marker that can be quantified. In the system, chips can be seeded with organoid cells that replicate the environment of an organ, and can be supplied with media and nutrients to keep the organoids alive for extended periods of time. Drugs and viruses can then be introduced to the cells and changes in gene expression can be measured using bioluminescence.
In the project, the focus was determining what type of changes can be tested using OrChID-Bio. A microfluidic system was developed to adjust the pressure and forces applied to the organoids. Viruses such as Rotavirus and several drugs were also tested on the organoids. Results showed differences in signal collection between the trials, but more samples would be needed to make statistical conclusions. From this, OrChID-Bio becomes a viable and promising technology that could help measure minute changes and help gather data for real time issues.
The STS technical report took a focus on looking at the ethics behind AI in healthcare privacy. AI has begun to play a large role in personalized health care, and data is a large part of making AI usable. Privacy is a human right and utilizing information should not be used without permission. In the research paper, literature is examined to determine how location, socioeconomic status, and government policies all play a role in health care privacy. Using actor network theory, AI is analyzed in this context to determine what should be done to ensure privacy for users.
The research found that location can play a large role in determining what people find important in privacy. People with lower socioeconomic status also tended to be more concerned with giving out private data. This information all informed the conclusion that educating the population and explicitly requesting consent for data will be imperative to the use of AI in healthcare. Users require transparency and information on what will be done with their data and how it will be used.
When working with patient data, permission and transparency is a requirement. By bettering data collection methods and analysis through OrChID- Bio and AI, patient treatment will significantly improve, but only with patient consent will it become truly beneficial.

School of Engineering and Applied Science

Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Technical Advisor: Sean Moore

STS Advisor: Pedro Francisco

Technical Team Members: Hamza Ahmed, Nikki Akula, Stone Zhang