Team from Biomedical Engineering Study Program Won 1st Place in the 2021 Tanoto Student Research Award

Team from the Biomedical Engineering Study Program won 1st place in 2021 Tanoto Student Research Award event at Appropriate Technology category and best poster.

The team leader is Alifia Zahratul Ilmi (18319013). While the members are: Muhammad Fairuziko Nurrajab (18319025), Eraraya Morenzo Muten (18320003), and Kayyiza Zahratulfirdaus (18320011). Acting as a supervisor is Allya Paramita Koesoema, S.T., M.T., Ph.D.

The proposed research is related to Sleep Apnea. Sleep apnea is a respiratory disorder in the form of cessation of breath flow during sleep. Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed and becomes apparent when it reaches the severe category. Severe sleep apnea can cause heart disease, depression and even death. Diagnosis and treatment of patients with severe sleep apnea is expensive and access has become increasingly difficult due to the pandemic.

Therefore, the team designed a non-invasive sleep apnea detector with mechanical sensors. To increase user comfort, the device is designed in the form of a sleeping pillow with memory foam material that is sturdy but still comfortable to use during sleep.

This tool uses a pressure sensor, a sound sensor, and a pulse oximetry sensor that measures the user’s sleep activity on the neck. The tool on the neck pillow is also integrated with a smartphone application for setting and monitoring measurement results. It has been clinically tested with comparable home testing kits for testing sleep apnea and achieves reliable accuracy.

TSRA, which was held by the Tanoto Foundation, has been going on since 2006 with various competition formats. At the beginning, this competition was devoted to competitions between student groups (himpunan mahasiswa). However, over time, this competition was made as dynamic as possible, so that anyone could join the competition.