Pulmo Lens wins Rep. Andrew Clyde’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Georgia’s Ninth District

When asked what inspired the creation of Pulmo Lens, Krish Tripathy said, “The inspiration for Pulmo Lens came from a personal experience and a question that stayed in my mind. When a family member was hospitalized for pneumonia that had gone undetected for a long time, I realized how dangerous delayed diagnosis can be. At the time, I was diving into learning artificial intelligence models. In fact, my learning was motivated by the loss of a loved one, as I was eager to find a solution so that no one else would lose someone close. While learning the core aspects of machine learning models, I was fascinated by how convolutional neural networks could find patterns in medical images that are difficult for the human eye to see. When I eventually learned Grad-CAM, which highlights the areas that most influenced an AI model’s decision, I realized I could use it to make medical predictions that are easier to understand.

“Hence, my idea became the foundation of Pulmo Lens. I wanted to build a tool that made the power of artificial intelligence useful to doctors. Therefore, I designed the system to provide both results and visual feedback so that healthcare professionals could clearly see what the AI model has identified. Pulmo Lens is also inspired by my interest in using technology for good. I have always been passionate about solving real problems through coding, and this project allowed me to connect that passion to healthcare. Creating Pulmo Lens reminded me that innovation begins with empathy. I wanted to make something that matters to people, not just something that runs on code. Hence, my motivation is what shaped every decision and execution in the project, from the model selection to web design.”