Doctor Bui Trong Nguyen (37 years old, Deputy Head of the Steering Department, People's Hospital 115) did not start his creative journey from a closed research room, but from very ordinary questions beside the hospital bed: How can a person after a stroke, even if their body is no longer obedient, still be able to choose their own direction? How can patients become less dependent on their loved ones, overcome negative emotions when losing motor function?
After about 15 years of working at People's Hospital 115, those questions gradually became a motivation for Mr. Nguyen to explore and improve his work. Growing up in a simple family, Mr. Nguyen believes that working is not only to fulfill responsibilities but also to create value for others. With the medical profession, that thought becomes even clearer when behind each procedure, each process is the waiting, worry and hope of patients.
Talking to Lao Dong, he said that the idea of the eye-controlled wheelchair was born from the fact that he witnessed patients after stroke being limited in movement, even unable to control the wheelchair in the usual way, even though their awareness is still good. Recognizing that eye movement, head movement and voice are the rare motor abilities remaining in many stroke patients, he and a research group from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Technology have developed an eye-controlled electric wheelchair product.
Technology can become an extended arm to better care for patients," the doctor shared. What he aims for is not only a working device, but to give patients more proactiveness, reduce the burden on their families and support medical staff.
Currently, the author group continues to improve the new version integrating more flexible control methods, and at the same time carry out technology copyright registration procedures.
In the period 2021-2026, Mr. Nguyen owns 6 initiatives with a total benefit value of about 5.8 billion VND. To date, the smart electric wheelchair controlled by the eyes is the project that Mr. Nguyen is most proud of.
From empathy with patients, he chose to ask questions, experiment and find answers. For a doctor, this Ton Duc Thang Award is a motivation for him to continue researching, connecting colleagues and bringing technology into practical problems of the medical industry, thereby spreading the spirit of creative labor to the young team.
At the unit, Dr. Bui Trong Nguyen also spent time training, fostering, and tutoring more than 500 workers in the period 2021-2026, encouraging young people to start creating from a real problem in their work.
