SUKU Develops a Blockchain-based COVID-19 Solution with a Fortune 500

By Yonathan Lapchik, CEO, SUKU

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, I want to express my deepest sympathies to each of you who have been impacted personally and professionally.  I am proud to share some details around our team’s innovation and adaptability to help in this fight.  

At the time of the initial spread, we were finishing a successful pilot of our blockchain-based SUKU Scanner application, a solution utilized for tracking the authenticity and provenance of consumer products.  From talking to various partners and listening to the White House briefings, we saw an opportunity to utilize our platform to solve COVID-19 issues. As such, we customized portions of our traceability and data solutions to create this COVID-19 solution with Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY).  

Our Blockchain-based COVID-19 Solution

By equipping COVID-19 test kits and PPE with Smartrac’s CIRCUS™ NFC tags, Avery Dennison’s Digital Identity platform feeds tag data to our blockchain-based supply chain application. The data from the mobile engagement then confirms the authenticity and provenance of the tagged product, reassuring customers and ultimately increasing trust. Customers can also view their purchase price of PPE compared to the global average, providing transparency to help in the fight against price gouging.

Our solution also allows organizations to have to access real-time data from COVID-19 test kit results in order to make informed decisions on the allocation of doctors, facilities and resources. By opening a communication channel with healthcare officials, the solution will also provide patients with guidance on appropriate behavior based on the result of the test.

 

How Our COVID-19 Solution Works for Test Kits

  1. COVID-19 test kit manufacturers and/or distributors attach NFC tags to their packaging;
  2. Patients receive the test kit and scan the NFC tag to verify the authenticity of the kit;
  3. Patients take the COVID-19 test to get test results and input the data, opening a portal to provide diagnostic information;
  4. Based on their diagnosis, patients receive customized health guidance and care. Also, immunity certificates (such as scannable QR codes) may also be issued to patients with appropriate antibody results;
  5. Data is anonymously aggregated through the SUKU Tag Management platform to analyze key metrics and support public health decision making.

Unique Digital Identities for Physical Products  

When we combine the SUKU Blockchain with Smartrac’s NFC tags, we can guarantee the authenticity of products from both a physical and digital perspective. Each COVID-19 test kit and PPE product has a unique digital representation secured by the SUKU Blockchain. The use of NFC tags ensures that there is no physical tampering of the product, and the use of blockchain ensures that there is no tampering of the digital identity.  

Without a complex system integration, we can enable product verification, efficient distribution, and transparent pricing through our solution. For example, the NFC tags work similarly to U.S. Postal stamps. Approved suppliers append the NFC tags to PPE before shipping in order to certify the authenticity of their PPE. Therefore, buyers can ensure they are purchasing authentic PPE by scanning the NFC tags. In addition, it can help with distribution by providing real time data on the location of any available supply.

Potential for Immunity Certificate Issuance

Blockchain based identities allow users to have a level of security, anonymity, and authenticity that doesn’t exist with centralized identity and profile management solutions, such as social media accounts.  We believe we are a great candidate to issue certificates with the appropriate antibody results (e.g., Immunity Certificates). With the infrastructure already in place to capture test results, certificate issuance is a natural extension for our existing COVID-19 solution.  

Access to COVID-19 Authenticity for All

As providers around the world are working to quickly expand the availability of PPE and testing for COVID-19, it’s important to build technology that’s easy to adopt. Our goal is to offer a simple solution, providing the right transparency, provenance, supply availability, and real-time data needed using NFC tags enabled by the SUKU Blockchain.  

The first set of tags with our COVID-19 Solution were shipped last week, and we are working towards getting these appended to a significant number of COVID-19 Test Kits and pieces of PPE.