Pukyong National University

The focus is now on an I.V. pole stand that autonomously follows patients

- Student Team from PKNU received the grand prize at the Joint Competition for Innovation Leading University 2021

△ Photos of award winners (from left, Han Won, Kim Hyeon-Jeong, Kim Chae-Yoon, Choi Byeong-Hoon) ⓒPhoto Choi Ji-Seong (Dept. of External Cooperation)

The idea of a smart I.V. pole stand that follows patients who need to get an I.V. has attracted public attention.

The student team including Kim Hyeon-Jeong, a 4th-year student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering IT Convergence, along with Choi Byeong-Hoon, Han Won, and Kim Chae-Yoon (Ahn Ye-Chan, Advisory Professor), 4th-year students from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, at Pukyong National University (President Jang Young-Soo) won the grand prize at the Joint Competition of 2021 Innovation Leading University.

They were awarded the grand prize for their work, 'FOLLOW UP I.V.', an automated smart I.V. pole stand that recognizes and judges a specific patient on their own at the recently held Joint Competition of 2021 Innovation Leading University. This contest was jointly hosted by 5 universities participating in the smart healthcare field of the 4th Industrial Revolution Innovation Leading University Project hosted by the Ministry of Education.

The 'FOLLOW UP I.V.' developed by Pukyong National University's students is a smart I.V. pole stand with a drive motor and automatically traces and follows the patient’s location with a specific mark. It not only adjusts the speed according to the distance from the patient, but it is also designed to automatically stop when it recognizes an obstacle without falling over, even on a ramp.

A camera mounted on the I.V pole can be programmed to recognize a specific sign and drives a motor while adjusting the direction and speed according to the coordinates and size of the sign. An infrared sensor is also utilized, so the speed is adjusted or stopped according to the distance from the patient, and a gyro sensor and sub-motor are used to adjust the level of the I.V. and prevent it from falling. A Mecanum wheel that rotates in place is also employed to prevent the I.V.'s string from twisting.

Kim Hyeon-Jeong said, "We developed this work to solve the inconveniences that may occur when using the existing I.V. pole stands, such as a patient with a physical disability who cannot control the direction or use both hands while carrying the I.V. pole stand," she added, "By using this, I expect that patients who have gotten an I.V. will be able to engage in safer and more free activities.”

Two teams from the 4th Industrial Revolution Innovation Leading University Project Group participated in this competition, and biomedical engineering students in their 4th year, including Kim Seung-Joon, Lee Dong-Hae, Kim Young-Eun, and Shim Yoon-Joo (Kang Hyun-Wook, Advisory Professor), received a participation prize with the grand prize. <Pukyong Today>