Students make automatic testing machines

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Tung, Nguyen Van Tinh and Le Anh Tuan Bang (from left to right) at the automatic COVID-19 testing machine – Photo: LE MINH

The product won the second prize of the national science and technology competition for students in the school year 2021 – 2022. From middle school, these two students invented the “reading rack to prevent myopia” and won the top prize in the term. district-level science and technology exam; provincial consolation prize in creative competition among teenagers.

Ideas from reality

In early 2021, the COVID-19 epidemic in Ha Tinh began to break out strongly. Ky Anh High School has a number of cases of COVID-19 infection and medical staff were sent to the school to take samples for testing for all teachers and students. Realizing that the sampling work of medical staff is difficult, Tinh and Bang came up with the idea of ​​​​creating an automatic sampling machine to help medical staff.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Tung – physics teacher at Ky Anh High School, who directly participated in the instruction for Tinh and Bang – recalled: “The children proposed the idea of ​​​​inventing a COVID-19 test sampler, I received it. If successful, it will support a significant amount of energy for the health sector in the context of the complicated situation of the epidemic. Me and the school team encouraged and supported two students to go online to find out about the health problems. related products to create the most effective test sampler”.

In May 2021, Tinh and Bang went online to find out and refer to how a Danish-made COVID-19 test sampler works. After that, the two children designed, went to websites to order components for manufacturing. “The components to make the COVID-19 test sampler locally are not available, so we have to order them in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. There are devices we have to go to the place to buy, at the time of manufacture. Creating products due to the complicated COVID-19 epidemic, every time I go home, I have to be isolated,” – Bang said.

Hope to market soon

In general, this test sampler has three main parts: the chassis part, the mechanical part and the electronic component part. In terms of usage, the person taking the sample is called to sit in the sampling chair, put the test tube in the machine tray; fixed face waiting for lights and signal speakers; Open your mouth wide, press the switch with your chin until the sampler is finished; Take the test tube, close the cap, put the test tube in the container. The whole process of sampling (throat sampling) is fully automated and only takes about 90 seconds to 105 seconds.

A machine to take samples for COVID-19 testing by Tinh and Patent costs more than 3.5 million VND. However, due to the first invention, many components were damaged and caught fire, so the price of the machine after completion was about 10 million VND. In the process of inventing the machine, in addition to the great help of teachers, the children also received enthusiastic advice from local health officials.

In March 2022, Tinh and Bang brought the device to Ha Tinh High School for the Gifted to participate in the online competition of the National Science and Technology Competition for students in the school year 2021-2022, their product won the second prize. “We will continue to improve the testing machine in the future. I also want investors to learn about the machine to manufacture and bring it to market soon to apply in life,” said Tinh.

Automatic garbage sorting machine ‘made by’ students

TTO – Just put the waste in the compartment, the machine will identify and put it in the correct bin. This is a device developed by a group of students from the University of Science and Technology (Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City) with the desire to make garbage classification more convenient in public places.