MotionBloom wins Rep. Deborah Ross’ 2025 Congressional App Challenge in North Carolina’s Second District
Rep. Deborah Ross has named Aharshi Bhattacharjee of Wake Tech Early College High School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in North Carolina’s Second District. Their app MotionBloom is an interactive rehabilitation system and tremor data logger meant for patients with Parkinson’s disease and other motor control disorders.
When asked what inspired the creation of MotionBloom, Aharshi Bhattacharjee said, “The motivation for developing MotionBloom came from my observation of how many individuals with motor control disorders, particularly those with Parkinson’s disease (PD), struggle to stay engaged in therapy. They have clear potential for motor improvement. Research shows that using real-time sensory cues to help patients monitor and adjust their own movements is a viable approach for motor rehabilitation in PD. These studies reinforced my belief that a system providing immediate, intuitive feedback—like pausing a video until the patient’s hand movement is smooth—could re-engage users by creating a meaningful reward loop for motion control. Additional work with wearable sensors also supports continuous monitoring of tremors and other motor symptoms in PD through IMUs and accelerometry. This establishes real-time motion-based feedback as technically feasible. With this scientific foundation, I decided to merge sensor engineering with machine learning and neuroscience into MotionBloom. This way, therapy becomes interactive, clear, and motivating instead of passive or confusing.”
The 2025 Congressional App Challenge marked another record-setting year for the program. A total of 394 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted App Challenges in their congressional districts, the highest level of participation in the program’s history. More than 13,800 students from across the country participated, submitting over 4,600 original apps focused on real-world challenges ranging from health and accessibility to education, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle school and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science, and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and winning teams are invited to showcase their projects to Members of Congress, staff, and industry leaders at the annual #HouseOfCode celebration on Capitol Hill.
The Challenge is proudly bipartisan and reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to STEM education and preparing the next generation of American innovators for the future workforce. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Infosys Foundation USA, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2026 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.