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| Rheumatism Detection Tool, An Innovation by UMM Students (Photo: Special)) |
Rheumatoid arthritis, or rheumatism, is an autoimmune disease characterized by long-term inflammation of the joints. Although this disease is commonly found in the elderly, it can also affect adults and teenagers. For this reason, students from Muhammadiyah Malang University (UMM) have innovated by creating an early detection tool for rheumatoid arthritis through nail analysis.
The students behind this innovation are Nuri Vhirdausia, Frenischa Yincenia W., and Desta Karina from the Nursing Science Program in the Faculty of Health Sciences (Fikes), along with Abi Mufid Octavio and Muhammad Lutfi from the Mechanical Engineering Program in the Faculty of Engineering (FT).
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Abi Mufid Octavio explained that once rheumatoid arthritis reaches an acute stage, it becomes incurable and can lead to paralysis. Therefore, early identification is crucial to determine whether someone is at risk of developing rheumatism. Interestingly, this tool has been tested on more than 100 samples and received positive feedback.
“Our samples include teenagers, adults, and the elderly. After using our tool for early detection and conducting further re-checks, we found effective results,” he explained.
Abi further stated that the tool works by analyzing nail conditions, including texture, ridging or pitting, yellowing, brittleness, and splinter hemorrhages. These visual conditions are not visible to the naked eye. If indications of rheumatism are found, further observation by a doctor will follow.
“There are many indicators of rheumatism, and our tool is designed to visualize the results from photographed nails for further identification,” he continued.
Of course, every innovation faces challenges during its development, and Abi and his team were no exception. He admitted that it took more than a month to develop this innovation. Moving forward, the tool will be produced on a larger scale to increase the variety of innovations in the healthcare field.
“With a production cost of 7 million rupiahs, we believe this is a small price for an innovation in healthcare. We plan to collaborate with companies to commercialize this product,” he said.
Lastly, Abi hopes that this innovation, along with his team, will bring new advancements to the healthcare industry. The public will be able to identify early symptoms of rheumatism, enabling patients to be taken to the hospital for further treatment. He also encouraged students, especially those from the White Campus, to never tire of thinking and creating innovative products.
“Many of the innovators of groundbreaking inventions were young. Young people today can still do the same. Never get tired of innovating, because every innovation has its benefits,” he advised. (Zaf/Faq/fajr)
