Pearl Hacks 2023

Inspiration

At the start of 2023, a viral TikTok sparked discussion about a lack of Black representation in medical textbooks. This project, CURA, seeks to begin to acknowledge and provide representation for Black individuals, particularly in the context of medicine.

What CURA Does:

We looked to address this issue by creating a website that renders 3D models of darker skin tones layered with images of melanoma (skin cancer), providing medical professionals with the knowledge, awareness, and resources to diagnose. CURA could also serve as a learning tool in K-12 classroom or, eventually, in more advanced spaces to contribute to more diversity in STEM representation.

How We Built CURA:

💫 VS Code (HTML and CSS)
💫 Blender, Powerpoint
💫 Sketchfab
💫 Screencastify

Sources:

https://alvarotrigo.com/blog/css-text-animations/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34079319/ https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/skin-cancer-by-race#:~:text=A%202016%20study%20found%20that,Hispanic%20people%20and%20other%20ethnicities https://www.skincancer.org/blog/hispanic-doesnt-mean-immune-to-skin-cancer/

Challenges We Ran Into:

It was our first time using Blender (a 3D modeling/creation software) and embedding our 3D model into a website required us to use older software. It was also the first time we tried incorporating creative animation using both HTML and CSS at the same time. It was fun and pretty gratifying when we made progress though!

Accomplishments:

Being able to learn and produce something meaningful using complex software in one day was a huge accomplishment. We were also proud of creating two different 3D experiences for people who may find it harder to click and drag through the live 3D model viewer, especially since accessibility is a huge part of inclusivity.

Learned:

We learned a lot about pushing through dead ends and not giving up on our idea. There were a lot of times where we realized it would've taken us a lot less time to make simpler web applications, but we didn't want to sacrifice our passion for making this product and what it could change.

What's Next?

In the future, we want to use animations in Blender that take you through the stages of melanoma to improve efficiency in early detection. Ultimately, we want to be able to model all types of skin disorders in 3D and move on to larger body disorders.