Reco

J&J × SCAD Hackathon · AI recovery companion · 2025

“Stronger Mind. Stronger Body.”

72-hour hackathon sprint
UX/UI designer and presenter
Nominated for J&J Best Concept
Oct 2025 · Johnson & Johnson × SCAD

01 · The story

One game, then months on the couch.

Two young women playing soccer on a grass field.

A young woman lying in bed after surgery, her leg in a hinged knee brace.

On the couch with the leg in a motion machine, looking at a tablet.

Close-up: eyes closed, headphones on, the tablet still in hand.

02 · The real injury

It isn’t just physical. It’s psychological.

0%of athletes experienced anxiety and depression after ACL surgery

Stress level

More daily stress and a worse mood, less of the home exercise gets done.

03 · Problem

Months of the same exercises, and no reason to keep going.

Teen and college-aged athletes struggle to stay motivated through repetitive, months-long home exercise programs after ACL surgery.

Motivation

Self-Determination Theory

We restore motivation by giving athletes autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

04 · AI chatbot

Our chatbot recovery companion.

BoKneeDays41

How does your knee feel today?

…meaningful happened. Would you like to tell me more about it? What’s been on your mind?

anxiety

I’m really sorry to hear that you’re feeling anxious. It’s completely understandable to have those feelings, especially during recovery. Did anything in particular trigger your anxiety today, or was it more of a general feeling?

Ask me anything…

Checks in dailyThe day count keeps going, so the recovery has a shape.
Talks about how it feelsAnxiety gets a reply, not a form to fill in.
Answers from researchMedical answers come from PubMed, not guesswork.

05 · Know your knee

We’ll let you know how your knee is healing.

What's in knee: a Helpful Effect note on staying active in early ACL recovery, above a knee-brace illustration and a Diagram button.

Knee Anatomy Diagram: the knee joint with the ACL in yellow.

Feel in control of your body.

06 · Tech used

What answers when the athlete asks.

GPT-4o miniAI-LLM
OpenAIAI-API
Entrez PubMedMed-API
SupabaseEncryption for API key

07 · Future direction

Where Reco goes next.

Two phones with VITA, a blue character, introducing itself and sharing a story about a soccer player who came back from ACL surgery. — **Character · VITA**A companion for the side of rehab that needs more expertise, like nutrition.

Home-screen widgets: How are you today? Day 45 with BoKnee, and a green Days 41 counter. — **Widgets**On the home screen, so the companion is there without opening the app.

A phone strapped on a braced knee, measuring the angle of the leg lift. — **Smartphone IMU rehab**The phone measures the angle, speed and shake of each leg lift.

Team project by Group Busy Bee at the Johnson & Johnson × SCAD hackathon. I was a UX/UI designer and presented it.