Students design dengue detecting system for 7th SWEEP Awards

MANILA, Philippines - Using their knowledge in wireless technology, a group of students from Bulacan State University (BSU) has come up with a mobile application designed for remote diagnosis and monitoring of dengue fever.

The “3D: Dengue Detecting Device” is their solution to lessen if not completely eradicate incidence of death due to dengue.

“Dengue per se is not fatal. We have the science to help victims recover from the disease. But if the fever is left undiagnosed and untreated, it will lead to Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever which affects the production of platelet that plays a critical part in blood clotting. DHF is the one that kills people,” says Donn Angelo Teodoro, a BS Electronics and Communications Engineering student and leader of the BSU team that has qualified in the finals of this year’s SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards.

Now on its 7th year, the SWEEP Awards is held annually by Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) to serve as a venue for students to apply what they have learned in school and come up with the most innovative wireless solutions to address the actual concerns of the community.

The 3D: Dengue Detecting Device is the team’s answer to the challenge posed by this year’s theme of “Empowering Communities through Wireless Technologies”.

“We chose to tackle dengue fever because we were greatly bothered by the news of the rampant increase in number of out-patients this year. We want to help our respective communities in combating the after effects of dengue. Lives have been lost due to misdiagnosis,” says Teodoro.

According to the World Health Organization, from January to August 2010 alone, there have been 77,012 recorded cases of dengue in the Philippines, with 534 resulting to death.

Their application is designed to provide an enhanced digital platelet count for remote diagnosis and monitoring of dengue fever through transmission of digitally-captured images of blood cells via GSM.

“Our device will intercept the progression of the disease from a simple dengue fever to DHF. We will deploy the mobile unit in conspicuous areas and give accurate diagnoses to those who show the first signs of infection. Once properly diagnosed with our system, the patient will either be sent home for home medication or referred to a hospital for further treatment,” adds Teodoro.

To further develop their application in preparation for the 7th SWEEP Awards finals in March 2011, the team will be conducting joint experimentation with the Bulacan Medical Center.

“They will serve as our professional adviser with regards to topics pertaining to the pathology of the disease and how to diagnose potential victims. Their involvement will be most crucial in the testing phase. We will be conducting simultaneous blood tests using our device with the help of their experienced medical technologists,” shares Teodoro.

Other student members of the BSU team are Ronald Capule, Reymond Gabayoyo, Melody Ann Leonardo, Laurence Louie Lugue, and Fatima Suerte Felipe. They are joined by coach and adviser Engr. Oliver Mariano and teacher mentor Engr. Benjamin Santa Maria Jr.

Given that there were 133 entries submitted by 26 schools nationwide, the team considers it already an accomplishment to have made it to the top 10. Still, they are most excited about the possibility of winning the competition and representing their school.

Since Smart introduced SWEEP Awards as part of its Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP), BSU has fielded entries every year. At the 3rd SWEEP Awards held in 2007, the school’s Smart Phone Guard wireless application won the grand prize.

The competition is exclusively open to partner-schools under SWEEP, Smart’s education initiative and the first industry-academe partnership launched in 2003 to help elevate the level of engineering and technology education, particularly in the field of Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE).