High school students in Nghe An mountainous region won the community prize in the contest "Building the future"

On the morning of January 9, the final round of the “Solve for Tomorrow” competition took place online. This is a competition organized by Samsung since 2012 worldwide for middle and high school students, to encourage them to proactively research and apply Stem education to solve local and social problems. In Vietnam, the competition has been held since 2019.

A group of students come up with ideas to make the product. Photo: NVCC

This year's contest took place from April 2021 with 1,200 products from students across the country. Through 2 rounds: Preliminary and Product Development, the Organizing Committee selected the 10 best products of Group A (Middle School level), the 10 best products of Group B (High School level) to enter the Final round.

Create QR code on your device. Photo: DT

With the product participating in the contest called "Smart infusion device", 3 students: Tran Lam Dung, Vi Thai Di, Mac Phuong Linh, students of Tuong Duong Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities, excellently entered the final round and won the Community Award.

Team leader Tran Lam Dung said: Every time I visit my relatives at Tuong Duong District Hospital, I see that there are a lot of patients here, while the medical staff is still thin. On the other hand, due to the Covid-19 epidemic, it is also very difficult for family members to be by the patient's side to take care of them. Therefore, when the IV runs out and there is an emergency, the patient has to call the medical staff themselves, which is very passive. In addition, not stopping the IV in time when it runs out can lead to backflow of blood, which can adversely affect the patient's health.

“At home, I kept thinking about whether it would be possible to create a medical device to support patients during treatment and help patients call doctors in case of emergency; help doctors easily monitor the amount of fluid infused, and at the same time reduce the workload for doctors. So my friends and I went online to research and discussed this idea with teacher Nguyen Thi Kieu. The teacher was very surprised and joined hands to help us,” Tran Lam Dung recounted.

Students draw product design diagrams. Photo: NVCC

After outlining the idea and planning the implementation with his friends, Tran Lam Dung's group also encountered many difficulties. "Lack of electronic components and funding, so to complete the product, we had to work for nearly 2 years. The hardest part was when we installed the equipment and encountered problems such as poor sensors, unconnected transmission lines, etc., which made the members feel discouraged. However, with the enthusiastic guidance of teacher Nguyen Thi Kieu, we became calm to gradually find the cause and fix it" - Vi Thai Di, a Thai ethnic student said.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu, a teacher at Tuong Duong Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities, shared: “When the students discussed this idea, I was actually very surprised because I was partly afraid that it would exceed their abilities, and partly excited because it was practical and suitable for reality. Through failures, I encouraged and guided them carefully to complete the product. They are students from mountainous areas, life is still difficult, but through the competition, I really admire their bold ideas and abilities.”

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu also added that the completed product "Smart Infusion Device" will help warn patients and doctors when the medical infusion runs out; because the operating mechanism of this device automatically closes the infusion bottle when the infusion runs out, helping patients call the doctor in case of emergency, helping the doctor monitor the amount of infused fluid via the phone app. The product is very smart when using a drop counter sensor combined with an infrared obstacle transceiver module to detect when infusing fluid. Using a servo motor to control the opening/closing mechanism of the infusion bottle, creating a QR code to manage hospital bed information, installing software to notify and display information on the doctor's smartphone. Therefore, it is very feasible to operate.

Mr. Kha Van Lap - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Tuong Duong district said: "This is the first time that students of Tuong Duong district have participated in a major competition and achieved such good results. Although they are students from a mountainous area with poor economic conditions, their efforts are truly an example for other students to follow."