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Articles

Business Mirror
Shared Stories
05 March 2018
Hits: 1093

WHO scientist to speak at PCHRD 36th yr celebration

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Dr. Bernadette Ramirez, World Health Organization’s (WHO) scientist, will deliver the keynote address at the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development’s (PCHRD) 36th anniversary celebration on March 16 at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Ramirez joined the WHO-Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases in June 2007 with over 20 years academic and research experience in health-product innovation, drug discovery, vaccines and the development of diagnostics for infectious tropical diseases.

She provides support and coordinates projects that studies population health vulnerabilities, vector-borne diseases and ways to increase population resilience against the climate-change impact in Africa.

Joining Ramirez as guest speakers are Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque  III and University of the Philippine (UP) Manila Professor Mary Ann Lansang. The PCHRD 36th anniversary celebration will highlight social innovations in health.

Part of the program is the recognition of good practices in social innovation in health, including the winners of the 2017 Search for PHL Social Innovation in Health Initiative Solutions.

A panel discussion follows, which will discuss opportunities and appropriate frameworks on social innovation in health research.

The panelists include UP Manila Professor Noel Juban, UP School of Economics Professor Aleli Kraft, Ateneo de Manila University Institute of Philippine Culture Research Associate Dennis Batangan and One Health Boat Project Founder Katerina Nono-Abiertas.

Awarding of newly accredited Research Ethics Committees and winners of the “Visualize Health Research: Visual Abstract Contest” will also be conducted.

PCHRD is the national coordinating and monitoring body for health research.

Source: https://businessmirror.com.ph/who-scientist-to-speak-at-pchrd-36th-yr-celebration/

Ladylove May B. Baurile
Shared Stories
29 January 2018
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Agapay project develops robotic arm prototype for stroke patient rehab

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The Agapay Project has developed a robotic device to provide accessible healthcare options to all Filipinos.

The initiative by De La Salle University to design and develop cost-effective robotic exoskeletons for stroke and injury rehabilitation has completed their robotic arm rehabilitation device prototype.

Funded by the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD), the research team, composed of biomedical engineers from De La Salle University and rehabilitation experts from University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital, created two robotic exoskeleton prototypes with a biofeedback mechanism for rehabilitation of post-stroke and injured patients by assisting motor movements in the shoulder, arm, and hand.

The biomedical devices, which were 3D-printed, offers a cost effective solution to production and works by utilizing a real-time biofeedback system which records neuromuscular activity using surface electromyography (sEMG).

The DOST-PCHRD reported how the AGAPAY team demonstrated in a research symposium in De La Salle University Manila, how the upper limb prototype mimicked the 7 degrees of mobility found in the shoulders, elbows, and wrists of patients, showing its potential use for physical therapy and rehabilitation.

Source: https://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/agapay-project-develops-robotic-arm-prototype-for-stroke-patient-rehab/

Ladylove May B. Baurile
Shared Stories
08 January 2018
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PHL Science dept bares 5 major achievements in 2017

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Research and technology assistance are the major highlights of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for 2017.  Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) what he considers the five major accomplishments of the DOST in 2017.

R&D assistance

De la Peña said the DOST assisted more than 1,000 Research and Development (R&D) projects all over the country, with 65 percent already completed.

The 1,057 R&D projects are being managed by DOST-attached agencies and councils, such as the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development and the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development.

In terms of technology transfer, the DOST-Technology Application and Promotion Institute guides investors regarding the intellectual-property system. The agency also provides them with patent consultations, as well as grants for the payment of Intellectual Property Office fees.

According to  de la Peña, 165 patents have been filed at the Intellectual Property Office this year.

Three Technology Transfer Days were also organized in 2017, and 30 technology fairs were conducted.

Technology Transfer Day aims to ensure technologies or inventions are maximized for the benefit of society and industries. Locally developed technologies supported by the DOST are showcased during this activity.

The agency also provides precommercialization support. A total of 17 inventions it has promoted were already commercialized this year.

Assistance to MSMEs

For this year alone, 574 firms were provided with hardware and software to upgrade their technology capacity, according to de la Pena. These micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have received the Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program (Setup) innovation fund.

Setup is a DOST program that aims to encourage MSMEs to adopt technological innovations to improve their products and services. The program aims to help MSMEs improve their competitiveness by providing them with a loan that is payable in three years.

Assistance to start-ups

The DOST has assisted almost 400 start-ups in 2017.

“We have provided them with all types of assistance—money, services, calibration, etc.,” de la Peña said.

To further help the start-ups and MSMEs, the DOST offers the OneStore, a web site where their products are displayed and can be purchased.

Close to 11,000 products have been uploaded in the OneStore web site this year.

Human-resource development

De la Peña noted that, in 2017, the DOST has provided scholarships to more than 22,000 students.

Of the said figure, 7,881 are scholars of the Philippine Science High School. Close to 1,000 are taking their PhDs, while 2,700 are taking Master of Science. The rest of the scholars are taking undergraduate courses.

Additional radars

To further improve weather-forecasting capability and disaster-risk reduction in the country, four Doppler radars, which could measure the rain volume, and two flood-forecasting and -warning centers have been completed this year.

The DOST said that, to date, the country has 13 Doppler radars and three X-Band radars in the country. “These radars have contributed to low forecast track error,” the science agency said.

The Doppler radars are in Iloilo, Palawan, Guian, Subic, Tagaytay, Mactan, Hinatuan, Tampakan, Basco, Zamboanga, Aparri, Virac and Baguio.

The three X-Band radars, on the other hand, were placed in the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration central office in Quezon City, Mindanao, and Baler in Aurora province.

Ladylove May B. Baurile
Shared Stories
18 January 2018
Hits: 1482

DLSU student develops robotic arm for stroke rehab

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An engineering student from De La Salle University (DLSU) has developed a wearable robotic arm that can be used in the therapy of stroke and accident victims. 

Paul Dominique Baniqued told ANC's Future Perfect Tech Shorts that he saw the need for a bio-robotic device while visiting hospitals during his stint selling lab equipment. 

He saw long lines of patients waiting for therapists and thought that he could come up with a way to help these patients.

Baniqued said he was also inspired by science fiction movies like Iron Man and Elysium which featured high-tech exoskeletons. 

"For my research, I would like something that helps people and at the same time at least be cool to show," Baniqued said. 

He is one of 25 Filipinos who received grants from the British Council's Newton Agham Programme, which aims to develop science and innovation in the Philippines.

Baniqued will pursue advanced studies in the United Kingdom where he hopes to further develop his expertise in bio-robotics.


Source: http://news.abs-cbn.com/video/business/01/18/18/dlsu-student-develops-robotic-arm-for-stroke-rehab

Nicole-Anne Lagrimas
Shared Stories
07 November 2017
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Pinoys with COPD urged to join landmark study on the disease

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Lung specialists urged Filipinos living with a progressive condition known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to take part in a “landmark” five-year study that is seen to yield important, still unknown data on what is considered the seventh leading cause of death in the country.

COPD patients would need to consult their nearest pulmonologists in order to be recruited for the study, whose goal is to shed light on the still unclear “local flavor” of the disease, lung doctors on Wednesday.

Launched last year, the COPD Profile and Survival Study (CPASS) of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP) aims to gather the profiles of COPD patients across the country, compare it with those of foreign patients, look at the survival rates, and bolster research on the disease in the country, said Dr. Tim Trinidad, who chairs the Council on COPD and Pulmonary Rehabilitation of the PCCP.

“The problem is we don’t have data on COPD, with regards our local setting...so we tried doing a research,” said Trinidad. He also said the study will involve the PCCP's nine chapters and 24 training institutions.

Dr. Charles Yu, president of the PCCP, said the CPASS is “the largest study of its kind” in the Philippines. He added that it has passed an ethics review and is now in the process of recruiting subjects.

“It is going to be a five-year study—we started 2016, hopefully we will be ending 2021,” Trinidad said.

The study—funded by the Department of Science and Technology's Philippine Council for Health and Research Development—will be especially helpful because doctors in the country do not yet know just how high the prevalence of COPD among Filipinos is, or why COPD seems to be more prevalent among women.

What they do know is based on an international study that is at least 10 years old, which said that two out of 10 persons over 40 years old in Metro Manila and Nueva Ecija had COPD; and that eight out of 10 of those with the disease do not know they have it.

COPD is projected by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be the third leading cause of death in the world by 2030. COPD reportedly affects 210 million people worldwide and was also the disease that killed veteran comedian Dolphy in 2012.

Silent until substantial damage is done

COPD is a progressive lung disease that damages the lungs slowly and may not be felt by a patientuntil 20 to 50 percent of the lungs are damaged, said Trinidad.

While it is not curable, the symptoms of the disease can be treated to improve quality of life and reduce the risk of death, according to the WHO.

“Ang COPD ay isang pinsala sa daanan ng hangin o baga na karaniwang nakukuha sa paninigarilyo,” said Dr. Roland Panaligan of the PCCP when asked for a simple explanation of COPD.

It is mainly caused by exposure to cigarette smoke; biomass fuels such as firewood or charcoal; as well as air pollution and occupational dust.

CODP is not tuberculosis, which is also highly prevalent in the country, said the doctors, though it can be a combination of emphysema and bronchitis.

To a lay person, Panaligan would say the symptoms are “hapo, hingal, ubo na hindi nawawala, na may kasamang plema.”

Patients may complain of asthma but actually be diagnosed with COPD, said PCCP board member Dr. Jubert Benedicto,  who also recommended attaching a prominent face—the late Dolphy, for example—to simplified explanations of the disease.

“Doon niya [patient] maiisip na, ‘naku, kung si Dolphy nga, mayaman, hindi na-spare sa COPD...’” he said.

“It’s an opportunity opening for us to tell them that you know, even if you have COPD, as long as you adhere to the medications which are available in the country...kaya pa hong magamot ang COPD,” Benedicto added.

COPD in the Philippines also goes largely undiagnosed for various reasons, which includes delayed consultations due to the cost of healthcare in the country, as well as a feeling of "comfort" with one's coughing and wheezing, symptoms of the disease, said Panaligan.

"Remember, the cost of healthcare delivery system is something out-of-pocket, so if they don’t have much money or savings for their health care, then it will really add up to the delay in terms of consultation," he said.

Majority of patients "take their symptoms for granted," too, said Benedicto.

One important way of addressing COPD is to quit smoking or to prevent exposure to noxious gases, said the doctors. There are also drugs that dilate the airways and curbs further lung damage, they said.

Raising awareness

Another strategy seen by the lung specialists to spread information about the COPD is through grassroots level awareness campaigns in barangays and municipalities, but they did not yet share details of their plans.

The PCCP on Wednesday also launched a partnership with private healthcare firm Novartis to boost their COPD awareness efforts, and to further the use of devices known as spirometers, which measure the amount of air inhaled and exhaled by the lungs.

It can be used by doctors and by lay folk who want to monitor their lung performance, said representatives from Novartis and the PCCP. A newer version of the spirometer may be connected to a mobile application for use by even non-doctors.

Novartis turned over spirometers to the PCCP, which will in turn distribute up to 650 of the portable devices to their members in the country for free-of-charge use by patients, said PCCP’s Yu.

The awareness-raising campaign, meanwhile, is called the BREATHE Initiative, which stands for Broadening Reach, Enhancing Awareness and Transforming Health Education. Novartis Philippines president Cheryl Maley said the endeavor will “ease the heavy burden [of CODP] in the country.”

The World COPD day is set to be held on November 15 and will be marked by various activities that aim to raise awareness and improve COPD care around the world.

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Republic of the Philippines
Department of Science and Technology
Philippine Council for Health Research and Development
 
3rd Flr DOST Main Building Gen. Santos Ave., Bicutan Taguig City1631 Philippines
+632 8377534; +632 8377537
  • 12th PNHRS Week
    • About The Conference
    • Program
    • Fellowship Night
      • Program
      • Contests
    • Registration
    • Keynote Speaker
    • Travel Guide
      • Accommodations
      • Venue
      • Climate
    • Live Streaming
    • Exhibit
    • Assistance
  • NUHRA
  • REGIONS
  • OPPORTUNITIES
  • News
  • About PNHRS
    • Organizational Chart
    • PNHRS
    • Objectives
    • Vision I Mission I Core Values
    • Strategy Map
    • History
    • Implementing agencies
    • Downloads
    • Gallery
    • TWC Update