Inspiration
Recent wars have left millions of people without basic human necessities, which includes access to the internet. I still believe that they should have access to essential healthcare information, which is why I built this local Flask-based web app, which can be used anywhere at any time.
What it does
Health Q&A Search or ask questions by voice using Speech Recognition Get instant, verified answers from the built-in FAQ dataset Option to download a personalized Health Guide for offline access Clean and responsive UI for seamless browsing AI Symptom Checker Type in your symptoms (e.g., “fever, sore throat”) to get:
Possible conditions First-aid recommendations When to see a doctor Includes clear medical disclaimer and data privacy notice
Designed for educational use - not a diagnostic tool
Interactive Clinic Finder Search by city or clinic name Data stored in a local SQLite database (clinics.db) Offline access to clinics in emergency situations
How I built it
The backend used is Flask (Python) with database of SQLite. The frontend was developed with HTML, CSS and Javascript. Pandas was used to handle data. Web Speech API allows users to search using voice recognition feature.
Challenges I ran into
I ran into issues with the Google Maps API. I wanted to create an interactive map where the user can see the nearby clinics on the map itself. However, this would not make the app available for offline access which is the core of this project - to make it accessible for underserved communities / places where the internet cannot be used. I am planning on implementing a Leaflet.js map in the future which allows the user to see an offline map with certain clinics that are already in the database. This would mean that the map is not updated, but it is still accessible when the user is offline.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I am proud of the voice recognition feature, which I thought was a key feature in that it removes the barriers where the user might be unable to type in their question. It allows them to ask questions hands-free and most of all, the feature is highly accurate which means the user can speak freely and the app still recognises it without too much effort.
What we learned
I learned that UI is very important, especially for this project. Since I want this app to appeal to a variety of people from different backgrounds, I made sure that the app design is not complicated but easy to navigate. The information displayed is concise and to the point, which allows the user to access information immediately.
What's next for CareLink
The next step for CareLink is to implement an interactive map which will help with the visual aspect for the user (easy to see if the clinic is close to them). I also want to build an AI chatbot, where the user can ask more detailed questions and get more personalised answers. In the future, I will connect with health APIs for updated live data. Even better is to make the app accessible for multilingual users with language translation.
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