Washington Guardian

Real-time AI-powered platform using interactive maps, symptom reporting, and AI medical assistant to monitor outbreaks, ensure privacy, and empower communities for proactive public health response.

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Inspiration

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, visiting hospitals and witnessing the immense pressure on healthcare systems revealed how outdated and slow traditional outbreak tracking methods were. Observing patients struggling for information—and public health officials eager for live, actionable data—inspired us to create Washington Guardian: an AI-powered health monitoring platform for fast, community-driven response. Our mission is to make real-time health data, AI insights, and location-based symptom reporting accessible for all, turning digital resilience into a public health standard.

What it does

Washington Guardian is a robust, AI-powered public health tool with the following features:

  • Real-Time Outbreak Visualization: Interactive maps powered by the Google Maps JavaScript API and custom layers to highlight live health risks.
  • Symptom Reporting: An anonymous system for users to report symptoms, fueling early detection and robust health analytics.
  • AI Medical Assistant: Chat for personalized health guidance, powered by AI.
  • Travel Health Monitoring: Specialized modules assess risks for travelers based on geolocation.
  • Data Visualization: Dashboards and heatmaps displaying trends and insights for users and officials.

How we built it

We used a modern stack for scalability and real-time insights:

  • Frontend: React + TypeScript; built with Vite for lightning-fast dev cycles.
  • UI & Styling: Tailwind CSS and ShadCN UI for mobile-first, accessible design.
  • Routing: React Router for easy navigation.
  • State Management: TanStack Query (React Query) for live data fetching and auto-refresh.
  • Mapping: Google Maps JavaScript API with custom overlays for outbreak and travel health visualization.
  • AI Integration: Connected to AI/ML models for real-time health guidance and chat.
  • Security: HIPAA-compliant data anonymization and secure authentication.

Challenges we ran into

  • Managing live outbreak data streams efficiently.
  • Ensuring user privacy and HIPAA compliance.
  • Fine-tuning AI models for accurate, contextual health advice.
  • Cross-browser compatibility and mobile responsiveness.
  • Optimizing performance for large data visualizations.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Real-time, smooth mapping visualizations.
  • Accessible and user-friendly symptom reporting flow.
  • AI assistant providing reliable medical guidance.
  • Strong data privacy while handling sensitive health information.

What we learned

  • Empowering communities with data drives faster health responses.
  • Privacy is critical in public health applications.
  • AI models require continuous refinement for healthcare use.
  • Collaboration between tech and health experts is vital.

What's next for Washington Guardian

  • ML-powered outbreak prediction and personalized risk scores.
  • Wearable device health integrations.
  • Community forums and local health resource finders.
  • Advanced AI features including image and voice symptom reporting.
  • Expanding scalability and healthcare partnerships.

Award:
Winner of theme "AI and Robotics for Disaster Management"
Washington University of Science and Technology (WUST)

Built With

  • autoprefixer
  • class-variance-authority
  • clsx
  • cypress
  • date-fns
  • embla-carousel-react
  • eslint
  • framer-motion
  • git
  • google-maps-javascript-api
  • googlemaps/js-api-loader
  • hookform/resolvers
  • javascript
  • jest
  • lucide-react
  • node.js
  • npm
  • playwright
  • postcss
  • radix-ui
  • react
  • react-router
  • react-testing-library
  • shadcn-ui
  • tailwind-css
  • tanstack-query
  • typescript
  • vite
  • vs-code
  • zod
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