UrineFlo wins Rep. Norma Torres’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 35th District
Rep. Torres has named Alexander Lee and Melissa Lee of The Webb Schools as the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 35th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of UrineFlo, the students said, “We have been volunteering at a surgery center and saw that most medical devices, such as blood pressure machines and oxygen monitors, are highly advanced and automated, except for urine output monitoring. Instead, this vital function is done manually, with the nurses estimating the urine collected over time (i.e. urine output) by visually looking at the urine bag gradation markers. Therefore, we wanted to develop a system and app that could make urine measurements less labor-intensive, more accurate, and easier to access by any medical provider. This system and app make urine output monitoring automated and easy to access 24/7, and can thus improve patient care and health outcomes.”
This year’s Challenge saw an unprecedented level of participation, with 374 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions, surpassing the previous record of 340. A remarkable 11,334 students from across the United States competed in this year’s Challenge, marking an impressive increase of nearly 1,000 participants compared to the previous record set in 2019. The enthusiasm and creativity these students display is a testament to the growing interest in technology and signal a bright future for American innovation. The surge of ingenuity continued with a whopping 3,645 original applications flooding in, nearly a thousand more than the previous year’s high. This remarkable growth showcases the exceptional talent and innovation within our nation’s youth.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from Omidyar Network, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2024, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.