A 14-year-old Indian-American boy is using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect cardiac issues. Siddarth Nandyala built an app using artificial intelligence (AI) to quickly detect heart diseases through heart sounds.
Siddarth started his first company, STEM IT, because he was frustrated with how schools teach science and technology. Regular lessons, in his opinion, only touched the surface of science and technology, failing to demonstrate their workings to students. With STEM IT, he wanted to give kids practical tools to play around with, build things, and truly understand the tech that runs our world.
His second company, Circadian AI, came from a different idea: saving lives. He saw that this AI tool could find heart diseases in people who didn’t even know they were sick, especially in poorer communities. Siddarth said that moment, when the app quickly spotted a problem and gave someone a chance to get better, showed him he wasn’t just making software but creating opportunities for people to live healthier lives.
How Circadian AI Works?
Circadian AI is an app that uses AI to check for heart disease by listening to heart sounds. Siddarth explained it’s super simple: you place a smartphone on the left side of a person’s chest, ask them to sit still, and use the app to record their heartbeat. Then, you press “analyze,” and the app listens to the sound and gives a report about the person’s heart health. It’s an easy way to catch problems early, even before someone feels sick.
As per the reports, Siddarth Nandyala tested his app, Circadian AI, at the Guntur Government General Hospital (GGH) in Andhra Pradesh to see how well it could spot heart problems in real life. He did two separate experiments there.
In the first one, he checked 505 people and found heart disease in 10 of them. In the second, he tested 863 people and found 16 with heart issues. After the app flagged these patients, doctors did more detailed tests like ECG (which checks the heart’s electrical activity) and 2D echo (an ultrasound of the heart) to confirm the results, which were then reviewed by a heart specialist.
He also ran a similar test at another hospital, GGH Vijayawada, where he screened 992 people and found 19 with heart disease. Siddarth explained that making the app took him seven months. The task included collecting heart sound recordings, teaching the AI to recognize patterns in those sounds, creating the app’s design for smartphones, and testing it in hospitals to make sure it worked accurately.
Siddarth Nandyala said his app, Circadian AI, won’t be available for everyone to use at home. It’s made specifically for hospitals and clinics to help doctors screen patients for heart problems, not for regular people to download and use on their own.
His dad, Mahesh Nandyala, shared that they noticed Siddarth was special early on. As a kid, he’d take apart gadgets—not to destroy them, but to understand how they worked. His parents supported him by giving him tools, materials, and the freedom to explore his interests.
Siddarth was born in Hyderabad, India, and moved to the United States when he was young. His Indian background instilled in him the values of perseverance, humility, and the importance of education, while his time in America taught him to think boldly and embrace risks.
These lessons helped him start two companies, STEM IT and Circadian AI, and even got him letters from former U.S. Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama congratulating him. His story is about blending hard work and creativity to make a difference.
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