Yorktown HS Senior Develops Bot to Improve Hospital Services

YORKTOWN, NY — Raka Bose’s desire to “reimagine health care” started with a personal experience.

Hospitalized due to an anaphylactic reaction, the Yorktown High School senior witnessed first-hand the need to develop a more-efficient patient triage system that would reduce patient waiting time and ease the burden on health care workers.

That experience inspired Bose to develop a chatbot named Daisy, whose real-world success recently earned Bose a spot as one of the top 300 scholars in the 2023 Regeneron Science Talent Search, a prestigious research competition for high school seniors.

Bose’s artificial intelligence was deployed in a hospital ICU, where the bot categorized COVID and long-COVID cases and suggested treatment options. Most patients who used Daisy spent just 11 to 15 minutes reporting their information, a 95 percent reduction.

“From my own experiences, I grasped the dire need for AI-driven automation of particular tasks to free up care teams to focus on critical functions requiring human interaction,” Bose said.

Bose's science research project, which she began during her sophomore year, stood out among a pool of 1,949 applicants from hundreds of high schools across the nation. Her project has also earned her an invitation to work with a group of scientists and doctors and the World Health Organization on its long-COVID research.

Paul Rubeo, a science research teacher at Yorktown High School, said he was proud of Bose's accomplishments and noted her years of hard work and dedication.

“Her project has real-world applications that will potentially help thousands of people worldwide,” he said.

“One of our goals in the research program is to have students develop projects that they are passionate about and that are impactful to the broader community," Rubeo said. "She embodies those goals and has excelled in the program.”

As a Regeneron scholar, Bose won a $2,000 scholarship for both herself and $2,000 for Yorktown High School. She said she will use the award money to further develop Daisy, which she wants to roll out in areas with limited access to health care.

Bose said she is grateful for the support she has received from science research teachers and her family.

“Whether it’s cutting tons of fruit for me while I work long hours on my research paper, or listening to my many practice presentations, their encouragement kept me motivated,” she said.

The high school senior said she plans to go into the sciences and continue her research through college and beyond. Her areas of interest include astrophysics and neuroscience. Bose said she looks forward to further pursuing her passion for science, as well as sharing her love for science with younger students.

In late January, 40 of the top Regeneron scholars will be selected as finalists and will compete for more than $1.8 million in awards during a weeklong competition that will take place in March in Washington, D.C.