Student Prototype Wins Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Challenge

Stroke is the most prominent cause of severe, long term disability in the world, affecting more than 15 million people annually. A third of all stroke cases are fatal, a third permanently disabled and the remainder are impaired but able to regain some movement/motor control.

For the latter group, rehabilitation is crucial and can help improve the quality of life for the patient. However, a successful and effective rehabilitation routine requires the patient’s motivation to be sustained, which is sorely lacking in most available rehabilitation programs. 

To meet this need, Mr Mazlan Alam Malik, a 4th year Mechatronics Engineering student, under the supervision of Dr. Alpha Agape Gopalai, took advantage of current mobile phone technology to develop a device that makes movement rehabilitation much more interesting, thus helping to maintain motivation and increase the chances of successful rehabilitation.

The invention recently also won the Telemedicine Innovation Challenge, in conjunction with the First Malaysian Telemedicine Conference.

Subsequently, after conducting more testing and improvement on the prototype, Mr Mazlan participated in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Challenge which saw competition from approximately 100 other prototypes.

His device, titled 'Interactive and Portal Rehabilitation for the Disabled (IPRD)', was named one of the three winning team in the final leg of the competition.

Mr Mazlan received a Samsung device, a learning trip to the Samsung headquarters in Korea, and a seed grant for developing the prototype towards commercialization.

Highlights of the event can be viewed from the video below.