Adrit Rao: AI Student, App Developer, and Stanford Researcher

Adrit Rao's Early Programming Journey

• 💡 Scratch was Adrit's first introduction to programming at age 8, sparking his excitement by making code come to life through block programming.
• 🚀 During the COVID-19 pandemic, he reignited his passion for coding by self-learning app development, inspired by the accessibility and distribution potential of the App Store.
• 🏆 His app development journey gained significant momentum when he became the youngest awardee of Apple's Swift Student Challenge in 2020, meeting Tim Cook.

AI in Healthcare and Research

• 🧠 Adrit's interest in AI was sparked at 13 by an article on AI's application in healthcare, specifically its ability to detect cancer.
• 🔬 He began interning at Stanford University at age 13, focusing on applying AI and app development to diagnose and treat health issues, including cardiovascular conditions.
• 🩺 His research has led to the development of apps that have entered clinical trials, aiming to make a tangible difference in healthcare.

Key Projects: AutoABI and Aortic Aneurysms

• 🩺 The AutoABI project addresses peripheral artery disease by using sound analysis from arteries in the legs to diagnose blockages, overcoming limitations of traditional pressure-based methods.
• 📊 The app developed for AutoABI collected crucial data by recording arterial sounds and diagnoses, leading to a model that converts sound to spectrograms for image classification, achieving over 90% accuracy in clinical trials.
• 📈 A current project focuses on abdominal aortic aneurysms, using AI to objectively measure aorta diameter from CT scans, aiming to improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce subjectivity.

Signer App and Community Impact

• 🗣️ Adrit developed the Signer app, which uses computer vision and AI to translate American Sign Language into spoken English, aiming to bridge communication barriers for the deaf community.
• 💻 He founded Aretech and its program Learn 2 Code for Kids to teach app development to children, inspired by his own journey and the impact of accessible tech.
• 🤝 Adrit emphasizes the importance of community, crediting online resources, developers, and mentors for his growth and encouraging others to reach out and connect.

Balancing Academics and Future Aspirations

• 📚 While balancing high school, Adrit prioritizes finishing schoolwork promptly and utilizes evenings and weekends for his research and app development projects.
• 🎓 He believes that even courses not immediately applicable will provide a strong foundation for future studies in college, particularly in advanced AI and healthcare fields.
• 🚀 Adrit's moonshot goal is to achieve FDA clearance for a medical AI algorithm, enabling it to reach a wide audience and significantly impact healthcare.