TCELS organizes i-MEDBOT Innovation Contest 2018

16/08/2018
TCELS organizes i-MEDBOT Innovation Contest 2018
Driving medical hub forward to improve life quality for Thais

          The Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS), Ministry of Science and Technology, organized the 2018 edition of the i-MEDBOT Innovation Contest on Saturday 4 August 2018 on the 7th floor of Central Plaza Grand Rama 9. The final round of this smart healthcare robotic technology contest selected 10 creative ideas competing to win the prizes.

          Dr. Nares Damrongchai, CEO of TCELS, says the 2018 i-MEDBOT Innovation contest drew an excellent response, with the large number of entries reflecting the interest of educational institutes and the private sector in developing medical robotic technology. TCELS is searching for innovations that utilize existing technology related to robotics and automation in healthcare applications. The aim is to encourage collaboration in the development of new and innovative medical products that are practical for the commercial market.  In addition, the contest will lead to the development of business in the healthcare robotics sector, which is regarded as a key factor in driving Thailand as a medical hub and in line with the new economic model Thailand 4.0.

          “TCELS expects that healthcare robotics will play a greater role in Thailand in the future. In addition to the positive economic impact, they will also play a crucial part in enhancing quality of life of the Thai people. The robotics will help reduce time and improve convenience for hospital patients as well as ease the workload of healthcare workers. As a result, they will have more time to increase their capacity to fully accommodate patients,” says Dr. Nares.

          Supporting innovative medical and healthcare robotics to help bring them to the market enables the growth of the medical industry. The import of more advanced technologies is to be expected as Thailand responds to an ageing society and also helps reduce hospitals’ operating costs. At present, Thailand’s imports of robotics is worth about 100 billion baht a year and this is growing by 10% annually while the Thai robotics industry is only growing by 5-10% a year. If local robotics supply can replace imports, the savings will be huge.

          Smart medical robotics will not only create a smart life for Thais but also provide good economic opportunities. The robotics industry will move Thailand forward to become a global leader in medical and healthcare services and improve the quality of life of the Thai people in the future.

The following 10 teams qualified for the grand final
1. Forensic Innovation Team with the “Robotic Autopsy Saw”
2. Paet Baht Daew team (One Baht Medical Team) with “Diag_4Me”, a communications device connecting doctor and patient through an application for preliminary disease screening
3. NUMTEC Team with “Automated screen control system of x-ray stretcher trolley” for elderly patients
4. TMGI Co., Ltd. Team with “SensibleSTEP”, a robot for rehabilitative gait training
5. EDL Team with the “Ambulance Drone”
6. Bot Therapist Team with “Bliss Robot” to promote learning of autistic children
7. BART LAB ASSISTBOT Team with “DoctoSight”, a smart robot to help diagnose diseases via telemedicine
8. S&T Team with “Liftmeup”
9. Naca01 Team with “A robot to rehabilitate the patients who suffer from paralysis of the hand and fingers”
10. KUS Team with “A robot to assist the elderly take their medication (P-Bot)”
 
The first prize winner receives a certificate and a cash prize of 150,000 baht
The second prize winner receives a certificate and a cash prize of 100,000 baht
The third prize winner receives a certificate and a cash prize of 50,000 baht

The winners of the i_MEDBOT Innovation Contest 2018 are as follows:
  • First prize: TMGI Co., Ltd. Team
  • Second prize: Forensic Innovation Team from School of Medicine, Mae Fah Luang University; Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University; and Hi Flow Solution Co., Ltd.
  • Third prize winner: Bot Therapist Team of lecturers and students, Biological Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi.
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