Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering with Honours student Mercedes Chan Simh Peh from Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) recently received the Best Engineering Student Award (BESA) 2023, awarded by IEEE Electronics Packaging Society (EPS), Malaysian Chapter.

For her passionate contribution to the field of biomedical engineering, she received a cash prize of RM3,000 and a certificate.

BESA is an annual award introduced by IEEE EPS, Malaysian Chapter on 2017. It is catered for undergraduate students in Malaysia, aiming to reward and encourage technical excellence in Malaysia’s next generation of engineers. UTAR students or alumni have been the recipients of BESA every year since 2019, marking a significant milestone for both recipients and UTAR.

Excited to receive the award, Mercedes Chan enthused, “I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude as I am truly honoured to have received this prestigious award and recognition. This award is a testament not only to my individual efforts, but also to the collaborative efforts of my family, professors, and mentors who have guided and supported me. I am grateful for the opportunities that have led me to this point and, at the same time, excited about the future possibilities that lie ahead.”

Titled “Development of an Instrumented Bed Monitoring System”, Mercedes Chan’s award-winning research was supervised by LKC FES academics Mr Chong Yu Zheng and Dr Chan Siow Cheng. It focused on reducing the burden of front-line healthcare workers by developing an instrumented bed monitoring system, which provides real-time monitoring of patient’s movement on the bed. The system features a sensor array located between the mattress and bed sheet to enable effective body movement and posture detection. Not to mention, it also features an alarm system and call function, which not only effectively improves the quality of healthcare, but also shortens the time interval of medical response between the healthcare workers and patients.

“In its current state, my project is greatly influenced by my grandmother’s extended hospitalisation. It provided me with a first-hand understanding of the challenges faced by individuals immobilised for long periods, which eventually led me to the expansion of the project scope to address the critical issue of bed sores, along with the function of a bed exit alarm,” said Mercedes Chan about her project.