Anika Bhat
Received a U.S. utility patent for the portable electronic asthma monitoring device MEDeBuddy, granted Dec 23, 2025 at age 17 — reported by Tri City Voice (Feb 10, 2026).
What they built
Anika Bhat invented MEDeBuddy, a portable real-time health and environmental monitoring system designed to help chronic asthma patients prevent attacks and self-manage their condition. The device tracks internal vital signs (blood oxygen levels, heart rate) alongside external environmental triggers (CO₂, humidity) via sensors, paired with a companion smartphone app. Inspired by her own experience managing asthma alone during the COVID-19 lockdown at age 11, she began building MEDeBuddy in 2021, funded the patent process entirely through science fair prize money, and validated the device with real patients including her grandparents during a trip to India. The U.S. utility patent was officially granted on December 23, 2025, after multiple rounds of examination by the USPTO.
View ProjectThe F18 Thesis
Verified track record
- Tri City Voice — "Local teen graduates from STEM student to inventor" (Feb 10, 2026) (source)
- IARIA EMERGING 2025 Conference — Presenter profile with publicly listed email (anika.bhat1022@gmail.com) (source)
- California State Science & Engineering Fair (CSEF) — First place winner 2021 (Stratford School Facebook post) (source)
- Moreau Catholic High School Instagram — school recognition post confirming asthma monitoring device work
- LinkedIn profile (source)