"Healing" with high technology, Mechanical Engineering student wins first prize in Young Innovation

(Dan Tri) - With their research project on "healing" using high technology, a group of students from the University of Mechanical Engineering (Hanoi University of Science and Technology) won first prize in the 2024 National Youth Innovation Competition.

The National Youth Innovation Contest is held annually by Hanoi University of Science and Technology to promote scientific and technological innovation and create useful products in life. After many rounds of competition, 5 teams entered the final round held on December 28 in Hanoi.

Three young men from the University of Mechanical Engineering (Hanoi University of Science and Technology) won first prize in the 2024 National Youth Creativity Competition (Photo: BKHN).

"Healing" with high technology

DNA Mechatronics team includes Mai Ba Nghia, Tang Hoang Duc and Le Duc Anh, students of class 66, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

Initially, the three boys were lab mates and had no intention of participating in the competition. However, thanks to the encouragement and connection of their instructor, the three decided to give it a try together.

According to Mai Ba Nghia, head of the DNA Mechatronics team, he himself had an accident in his hand and has not been able to function normally yet. Understanding the pain and difficulties of patients, Nghia and his colleagues researched a high-tech "healing" product.

The project "tactile feedback gloves in virtual space" is a combination of modern technology and medicine to create an advanced device that supports hand motor rehabilitation through virtual reality technology.

The product consists of two parts, hard and soft, the hardware is the catalytic feedback glove and the software is the virtual environment. Throughout the training process, the doctor will see whether the patient is progressing in the training process or not.

Experience "tactile feedback gloves in virtual space" (Photo: Bao Ha).

The product is designed to meet the needs of patients in the process of motor rehabilitation after injury - a field that is still limited in Vietnam.

The device uses virtual reality technology to simulate an intuitive interactive environment, helping patients perform hand movement exercises more effectively and vividly.

The device’s built-in sensor system can record important parameters such as grip strength, finger vibration, and range of motion. This data will be analyzed and provided to doctors, helping to assess recovery progress and tailor the most appropriate treatment for each patient.

Not stopping there, with virtual glasses, patients reduce boredom and pressure during the rehabilitation process. The exercises are designed in packages with different levels of difficulty for patients.

According to Mai Ba Nghia, it is currently difficult for patients to access high technology in rehabilitation or if available, it is not suitable for Vietnamese people's budget.

"With this study, it is possible to reduce the burden of patient care personnel and improve patient training compared to traditional training.

In particular, the diversity in virtual space can help patients practice actively," Nghia said.

"Tactile feedback gloves in virtual space" when connected to software on the computer (Photo: NVCC).

"Revive" the arms

According to Tang Hoang Duc, a member of the group, each member of the group has their own strengths. Initially, each member did not think about combining those strengths until they learned about this competition.

Especially since this is a new topic, there are not many reference documents, the whole team had to start from scratch, both creatively and ensuring practical application.

The tight preparation time of only 3 months forced the members to balance between studying, researching and developing the product.

Many times, the whole team stayed late at school to work together to perfect every little detail. Being purely technical, the team taught themselves how to present, debate, design and build business plans.

Disagreements and arguments were inevitable, but in the end, they always found common ground. The most memorable memories for the team were the times they "ran the deadline" to meet the competition schedule.

There was a time when the product seemed to be "broken" right before the deadline. But thanks to tireless efforts and a little luck, the whole team was able to overcome it in time.

"When we entered the finals, the whole team's emotions were a mixture of joy and anxiety. At first, we only intended to compete for the sake of it, to have memories, but we didn't expect to win first prize," Nghia said.

With high praise from the judges, the group won first prize in the 2024 Young Creativity Competition (Photo: Bao Ha).

According to the general assessment from the Jury, this year's projects not only have diverse fields but also closely follow current issues in smart agriculture, healthcare, education...

The teams also demonstrated their long-term product development vision by boldly proposing feasible business models and support services. This is a huge growth point for the teams after participating in the Idea Round when they were all engineering students who were not familiar with the business aspect.

The jury members highly appreciated the work of the DNA Mechatronics team.

Commenting on this project, a member of the jury said that rehabilitation should follow a doctor's regimen, instead of practicing on one's own, which leads to "losing money and getting sick".

The project should be applied mainly to people with mild strokes. As for people with severe rehabilitation, there must be medical intervention according to a specific roadmap.

Not stopping at the 2024 Young Innovation Competition, the DNA Mechatronics team hopes that this product will provide an optimal solution, contributing to improving the lives of patients needing rehabilitation.

"Currently, the product is sold for about 4 million VND, including gloves, camera and software system.

With the first prize of 50 million VND today, we will continue to keep the passion alive, expand the product's features, for example adding details to support hand holding for patients, and at the same time we hope to soon commercialize the product," Nghia said.

According to information from the Ministry of Health in early December, for every 10,000 people, there are only 0.25 rehabilitation health workers. Meanwhile, the recommended human resource level of the World Health Organization is 0.5 - 1 person/10,000 people.

Rehabilitation plays a very important role and is one of the pillars of the health system. Currently, the need for rehabilitation of people is increasing due to the aging population trend, many people suffer from chronic diseases.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/chua-lanh-bang-cong-nghe-cao-sinh-vien-co-khi-dat-giai-nhat-sang-tao-tre-20241228154543452.htm