Team:NYMU-Taipei/Applied Design
How well does the product address the problem versus other potential solutions?
We decided to design this product because we noticed that current used method include animal models, cell models, and virtual screening. These methods all contain some disadvantages, which is what our product is trying to overcome.
Animal model
Mice are the most commonly used animal model for the research on AGA. Researchers traditionally test the curing properties of their drug candidates on shaved mice, and observe the regrowth rate. However, this process is very different from hair loss caused by AGA, and since mice do not have human androgen receptors, it is unreasonable to use mice as the model to perform AGA drug screening.
Some alternative choices include using Primates and transgenic mice or transplanting human hair tissue into immunodeficient mouse. But, these methods are too expensive and not suitable for large scale drug screening.
Last but not least, animal testing has become a controversial issue nowadays because such experiments are a violation of animal rights, and scientists follow “the three Rs principles”: Reduction, Refinement, and Replacement.
Tissue culture model
Currently used tissue culture models are usually samples from patients and could only be obtained from research hospitals. Therefore, they are not easily available and are not capable for large scale drug screening.
Virtual Screening
Virtual screening is another powerful alternative for drug screening. It predicts the possible activity of a compound by computer simulation. Although this method is much cheaper and faster than any kind of bio screening, it still require experimental evidence to prove the actual effectiveness through animal and cell models, since virtual screening is still a simplified simulation of real condition and cannot replace the actual experimental data.
To solve this real-world problem, we came up with our product design with careful scientific consideration and worked to prove that our simplified screening system really works.
How its lifecycle can more broadly impact our lives and environments in positive and negative ways ?
Demonstration of our products
We made a video with 3D models to demonstrate our products and how they work.
Evaluation
To evaluate the potential impact and values of our project, we conducted several analyses and meetings, which could be found in our human practices, entrepreneurship, and safety pages.
Human Practices
Several inspiring examples include visiting experts, patient interviews, drug screening companies, and a pharmaceutical corporation. Through our meeting with experts, potential users, and stakeholders on this hair loss issue, we can claim that our product, an easier and better drug screening system, may provide significant help with candidate drug screening and contribute to the discovery of better pharmaceutical products against Androgenetic Alopecia.
Entrepreneurship
In our entrepreneurship page, we conducted extensive analysis (SWOT, customer behavior and cost-benefit analysis) to estimate the difficulties, advantages, and potential of our products. These analyses help us to understand how our products can impact people’s lives.
Safety
Although our products are for laboratory research use only and do not contain toxins or drug resistance genes, we strictly followed regulations and guidelines to avoid any possible risk. We ensured the implementation of all of these methods to prevent accidents, contamination, and the potential spread of pathogens.
References:
- Sundberg, J. P., Beamer, W. G., Uno, H., Neste, D. V., & King, L. E. Androgenetic Alopecia: In Vivo Models. Exp Mol Pathol. 1999 Oct;67(2):118-30.
- Randall, V. A., Sundberg, J. P., & Philpott, M. P. Animal and in vitro Models for the Study of Hair Follicles.J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc. 2003 Jun;8(1):39-45.
- The 3Rs and Animal Wefare | Understanding Animal Research. (http://www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/animals/three-rs/).