Genomic data has become increasingly easy and cost effective to produce and genomic data is accumulating with considerable velocity. At the same time, the medical, social and personal utility of genomic information is expanding, revealing new and potentially transformative applications of genomic technology. Simultaneously, genomic data is inherently sensitive—potentially allowing third parties to learn about health risks, family history and important personal attributes (e.g., probable hair color, eye color, and other phenotypic information) of individuals whose genomic data becomes compromised. Moreover, genomic data is inherently personally identifiable, posing the risk that third parties will be able to learn the identity of individuals whose genomic data is compromised (and by extension, important information about the identity of family members and their genetically encoded traits). This personal security vulnerability may enable curious data interceptors to obtain information about the intercepted individual and her family, including for instance, family medical risk predisposition, probable lifespan or potential response to medical therapy. An individual may go to a lab and have specimen taken for the purpose of producing genomic data. This genomic data can be stored and transmitted to others by health care providers, healthcare institutions, third party entities or the individual. Furthermore, users can decide to share or compare genomic data for a variety of medical and non-medical reasons and this is increasingly probable as the power of genomic data to produce meaningful insights into phenotypic features, probable drug safety and efficacy responses or a variety of other genomic correlates grows.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds