By the San Diego Union Tribune

Kayley Xu, a student at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, has made a habit of impressing judges in science and engineering competitions with the modern wearable stethoscope she designed.

She earned first place in the senior division of the Computational Systems: Medical category at the California Science and Engineering Fair in April and won the Second Grand Award and Society for Science Award in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May.

Since then, the 11th-grader has found new ways to use technology to advance human health. Her most recent creation, an app that analyzes and categorizes breathing sounds, recently received recognition from U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (D-La Jolla).

Peters’ office announced local winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge on Jan. 29. Kayley finished first among the pool of middle and high school contestants in Peters’ 50th Congressional District, which includes La Jolla.

Kayley got a call from Peters in early December to congratulate her. Only she was in violin class at the time.

“When I listened to the voicemail, I was so shocked and ecstatic, and I replayed the message a couple of times afterward because it felt really surreal,” she said.

She got her chance to reconnect with Peters on Jan. 27, when they met to discuss her award-winning app. Peters had a chance to use it himself and hear more about how it came together.

The annual Congressional App Challenge promotes youth participation in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.

Kayley’s submission, Respira, uses artificial intelligence to analyze breathing recordings and place them into one of four categories: normal, crackle, wheeze or crackle and wheeze.

The name is inspired by the Latin word “respirare,” meaning “to breathe again.” It includes an interactive breathing exercise game targeted to children.

Kayley said the app — like the wearable stethoscope, which is designed to pinpoint the exact location of an abnormal lung or heart sound and help guide diagnosis and treatment — was inspired by her own health struggles.

She had a severe case of pneumonia when she was 13 and was hospitalized for a week and required oxygen support. Throughout that experience, she said, she saw the limits of auscultation — a medical examination technique assessing body sounds using a stethoscope — and respiratory diagnostics.

With Respira, Kayley hopes to make health care more reachable, consistent and unintimidating, she said.

“Accessible virtual care is important to me because it allows high-quality care to fit more easily into people’s lives by lowering everyday barriers — whether cost, transportation, long wait times or uncertainty about when to see a doctor — that often prevent people from seeking help,” said Kayley, who has been competing in science fairs since sixth grade.

Top finishers in the Congressional App Challenge were chosen by local judges who evaluated the competing projects on their purpose, concept, technicality, creativity and design.

Kayley’s app “has the potential to provide much-needed clarity in how breathing sounds are interpreted and diagnosed by doctors and can make the intimidating process more fun and accessible for kids,” Peters told the La Jolla Light in a statement. “I had the chance to meet with Kayley and I was impressed with her ingenuity. I look forward to seeing what she’ll accomplish with Respira and in what I’m sure will be a successful career in STEM.”

Other award winners across the 50th District created projects for deaf or hard-of-hearing students; parents, students and staff members visiting school websites; people trying to figure out which items to recycle or throw in the trash; and businesses to help them connect with buyers who can reuse carbon.

Respira will be on display at the U.S. Capitol and is posted on the Congressional App Challenge website at congressionalappchallenge.us/25-CA50.

Kayley will travel to Washington, D.C., in April to present her work to members of Congress, congressional staff and leaders in the technology industry.