When was the last time
you saved a life?
Even though hackathons may be outdated, they are still a great way to break from the routine. Putting the day-to-day activities aside gives us time to reflect and see what has been bothering us, and Hackathons provide time and resources to try to fix it. Last year’s Hackathon produced innovation valuable to the whole community – an app that shows real-time blood supply levels in transfusion centers across Croatia.
Short summary
Industry
Healthcare
Location
Zagreb, Croatia
Timeline
2020 – ongoing
App that shows real-time blood supply levels in transfusion centers
The challenge
The idea of Hackathon is simple – develop something new and have fun while doing it, without pressure.
But, a team of five DECODErs wanted to invest their expertise in an idea that could really be useful for the community. An app that wouldn’t disappear after the Hackathon.
And they came up with a brilliant idea. To develop an app that would notify donors if the supply level of their blood type is low, encouraging them to act accordingly and maybe save somebody’s life.
The solution
Their idea won the Hackathon and the team then continued the work on the app. They kept it on their to-do list and would work on it aside from their regular projects. The goal was to develop an app that is intuitive and will serve its purpose effectively.
The data they needed was already available on the web of the Croatian Institute for Transfusion Medicine and its subsidiaries.
To gather all the data in one palace, they made a python script that scrapes it from the pages. That way, the supply levels are always up to date. The person will be notified only when the supply level of their blood type is below sufficient.
How we setup our team and tools when starting working with a software company →
This blog will describe which tools, processes, and practices we use here at DECODE, and how we approach new projects.
Outcome
The project resulted in two native apps, iOS and Android, with push notifications and integrated maps. The first version has three cities and clinical centers integrated, but with more coming as the data becomes accessible. It is available for download in AppStore and Google Play, and has already marked positive results and raised awareness.