Bringing Conservation Technologies Into Financial Sustainability: The DNA Barcode Scanner as a Case Study

Bringing a specialized technology to financial sustainability while solely relying on conservation markets is extremely challenging due to many factors, including limited organizational budgets and a small relative market... [ view full abstract ]

Bringing a specialized technology to financial sustainability while solely relying on conservation markets is extremely challenging due to many factors, including limited organizational budgets and a small relative market size. This challenge can be met by adapting the technology to serve multiple purposes by increasing adaptability and capability, growing the total number of markets which can be utilized for sale and profit.

This presentation will focus on the development of the DNA Barcode Scanner Project at Conservation X Labs which has the goal of creating a handheld POC device which utilizes barcode sequences in animal genomes. Our project is bringing together a diverse team to engineer a decision support tool: a low cost, simple to use, robust, highly modular molecular sensing device that allows citizens or officials to rapidly determine whether to investigate retail seafood product fraud or a corporate seafood buyer to detect problems in their supply chain. We need to develop a product that supports decision making and traceability in the environments where they matter – in the field, within the developing world, with the least number of steps possible, at lowest cost, with the highest resilience, and lowest complexity, while also making a defensible business case for financial investment and growth.