Two Mars Area Centennial sixth-graders develop award-winning medical app

By Karen Kadilak

When Mars Area Centennial School incoming sixth-graders Hannah Nam and Kristin Sadhu noticed family members forgetting to take or give medicine, they created Medilog, a progressive web app that helps keep track of a person's medication administration.

The project earned them first place in a spring contest created by global non-profit Technovation, which aims to empower girls 8-18 to pursue careers in technology — the Allegheny Intermediate Unit sponsored Technovation Girls Pennsylvania Regional Pitch Event.

As part of their entry, Hannah and Kristin produced a 100-word or less description of their project, a pitch video, a technical video as well as their mobile app source code and AI training data. Both students received certificates of recognition noting their outstanding work in the development of a mobile app that could solve a real problem in the community.

Kristin dedicated the project to her mother, Sneha, and others.

“When my brother and I were sick, my mom, a real hero, would have to write down every medication she gave us in a little journal,” Kristin said. “She would forget to give us the next dose on time, or would leave it in one place, then have to call my dad to go get it while my brother cried in pain.

“When she was sick or bedridden and my dad was at work, she would call me on her phone, which she always kept on hand. After asking around, I realized this was a common problem among parents.”

Hannah thought about her grandparents, who occasionally forget to take their medication.

“Though it isn't life threatening for them, it could be for others," she said. “This was one of the reasons why we wanted to create Medilog, an app where people don't have to worry as much.”

Hannah and Kristin hope to be among teams from around the world invited to Technovation's World Summit next year.

“There are a few features I just couldn't finish before the deadline, including the ability to share the data with a spouse or family member, automatically displaying the warning labels for medications and alerting you before and after you have given an overdose of a medication,” Kristin said. “I would also like to advertise our app more, because it won't do any good or make any difference if it's not being used.

“My dream is for it to help lots of families (who) pass it on to other families, and that it will make an impact on health in their families — maybe even save a life."

Hannah said it would be amazing for Medilog to be used every day.

“I hope it can be useful to people at one point,” she said. “It could even inspire someone else to create a better app.”

Kristin and Hannah entered the competition at the suggestion of Mars Area School District fifth and sixth grade gifted education teacher Tomianne Anderson.

"When I found out about this opportunity and presented it to the kids, I left it optional for any student who wanted to participate," Anderson said. "However, Hannah and Kristin are always looking for ways to challenge themselves and they immediately jumped on this opportunity.

"Their timeline for the project was short, but, to no one's surprise, they were extremely dedicated and put in a lot of hard work both in and out of school. It was quite incredible to watch their commitment to this project and their ideas come to life."