A new company developed by one of the two co-founders of 23andMe wants to help patients not only analyze their data, but influence how it is used. It reflects the free the data movement to not only eliminate data silos but also make patients’ own data more accessible
Linda Avey founded Curious (@Wearecurious) to help people interpret personal data in a way that goes beyond the data generated by 23andMe’s platform. It also envisages patients highlighting medical issues of interest to them.
The company’s approach encourages users to put on virtual lab coats and pose health questions based on their environment and diet, for example. Its website includes a scroll of questions from users such as ‘Is diet a factor in cancer?’ and ‘Do blood-glucose or insulin levels correlate with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease?’ It is also working to help disease foundations develop data sharing platforms.
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In an interview with Bionic.ly, Avey said:
Curious is a natural extension of ideas I had at 23andMe. But now we’re giving total control of the question-asking to the user. With the madcap emergence of sensors, devices and other sources of personal data, my co-founders and I see a need to rope it all together in a single place to enable exploration and discovery.”
