Youths Show Gerontech Genius

At the end of last year the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department worked with the Council of Social Service to create the Gerontech Youth Challenge.

The competition encourages the public, especially youngsters, to develop products that integrate technology with elderly care.

Teams from primary schools, secondary schools and inter-generation groups went head-to-head with their innovative creations.

Cushy comfort

Eleven-year-old Ceiran Chan and his eight-year-old brother Marcus from Evangel College designed a multifunctional pad containing doughnut-shaped cushions which can simulate a massager to help prevent skin issues and pressure sores.

Their product nabbed the top spot in the primary school category and was inspired by their mother’s experiences in taking care of their great grandmother.

Ceiran said: "Sores are common particularly among the disabled or bedridden elderly. With the ageing population and a lack of caretakers, we would like to help senior citizens with our invention.

"Products like ripple beds, seat cushions and padding for preventing bedsores are expensive. We wanted to design a good-value cushion for the elderly."

A microcontroller device installed on the cushions can also detect body temperature. If the user’s temperature is too high, the connected mobile application will inform their caretaker.

High-tech facelift

Five students from Buddhist Wong Wan Tin College took the top prize in the secondary school group of the challenge by adding a special attachment to give an ordinary wheelchair a high-tech upgrade.

Team member Jerry Chan said: "In the beginning we designed an electric wagon for transporting goods. Then we expanded our idea by creating a way to convert a manual wheelchair into an electric wheelchair."

Using a mobile phone app and a Bluetooth connection, a computer game remote control sends signals to small wheels attached to a device to power the wheelchair.

The young inventors hope their creation can give senior citizens a more affordable alternative to buying electric wheelchairs.

Passing on wisdom

Students from St Teresa Secondary School emerged the winners of the inter-generation group division.

They designed a medical kit with a built-in alarm system, hidden water bottle and pill containers to help the elderly take their medication on time.

Student Abbie Cheng said: "This medical kit has holders for medicine and another section that pours water into a glass, so the user can have their medicine and water ready at the same time. Users must turn off the alarm manually, so this ensures they remember to take their pills."

Teams in the inter-generation group category must include a member who is over the age of 60.

Seventy-year-old Teresa Nip is the grandmother of a member of the winning team. She gave her teammates advice based on her life experiences.

"My mother had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. She had to take about 10 different pills every day. This invention helps users organise their medicine. It is very convenient."

Team member Christy Chan said Madam Nip's suggestion to interview seniors and caretakers in elderly centres helped them gather valuable input.

More than 90 teams competed in the inaugural Gerontech Youth Challenge.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced in her 2017 Policy Address the Government will earmark $1 billion for a fund to subsidise elderly service units to trial and procure technology products to promote gerontechnology.