Meet Maya Trutschl, the 18-year-old Louisiana student who built a $130 system that detects bedsores before they form in ICU patients using machine learning and thermal cameras; wins a $25,000 scholarship

Global Science Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:46:16 GMT Moderate confidence — 73/100

At an age when most teenagers might have their minds on crushes, fashion or the latest album releases, Shreveport resident Maya Trutschl was thinking about a problem in hospital ICUs: how to stop bedsores before they appear.
In the ICU, patients lie motionless for hours.
But beneath the surface, tissue is already breaking down.

At an age when most teenagers might have their minds on crushes, fashion or the latest album releases, Shreveport resident Maya Trutschl was thinking about a problem in hospital ICUs: how to stop bedsores before they appear.
In the ICU, patients lie motionless for hours.
But beneath the surface, tissue is already breaking down.

Sources: Times of India