Cafebiz: Hanoi Middle Schoolers Are Using AI to "Read" Elderly Health

The "Silver Wave" – a term describing Vietnam's rapidly aging population – is presenting significant challenges to the nation's healthcare and social security systems. Against this backdrop, a group of resourceful middle school students in Hanoi has developed an innovative AI application to help monitor the health of senior citizens.

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As of 2024, Vietnam is home to approximately 14-15 million people aged 60 and over. United Nations projections indicate this number is set to double within the next two to three decades. This demographic shift poses considerable hurdles for the healthcare system catering to this age group, as their care demands substantial investment in time, effort, and emotional support from both families and the community.

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Amidst these growing concerns, the idea for a technological solution began to bloom in the minds of these young, enthusiastic students. Driven by a curiosity to explore the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and a desire to contribute to solving the complex problem of elderly healthcare, a group of middle schoolers in Hanoi embarked on an ambitious project: developing an AI application that integrates health data analysis via smart cameras to provide early health warnings for seniors.

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Phan Anh, Thuy Anh, Lam Ngo, and Bach Bui – all middle school students aged just 13-14 – have proven that an entrepreneurial mindset knows no age limits. Hailing from different middle schools across Hanoi, these young friends not only share a passion for technology but also established a professional working process: assigning clear tasks, setting specific KPIs, and holding regular progress meetings. Remarkably, their motivation stemmed from simple, everyday observations: concerns for their own grandparents living alone, or witnessing their parents stay up late caring for elderly relatives.

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Representing the group, Phan Anh shared, "My grandfather has several health issues and lives alone with my grandmother. Their situation constantly worries my parents. That's what pushed me to think about a tech solution that could monitor relatives' health and provide early warnings for potential risks."

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The application serves as more than just an at-home health assistant, connecting to cameras for diagnostic support and reminding users to exercise or take medication on time. It also aims to be an online space for seniors across the country to connect. The system integrates both machine learning and deep learning to analyze images and videos, detecting abnormalities such as unsteady gaits, pained expressions, or changes in daily habits – all potential early warning signs of health problems in the elderly. "Machine learning helps classify features, while deep learning allows the AI to learn complex details from image data autonomously. This is the optimal way to build a system capable of accurate predictions," Phan Anh explained. The team hopes that by leveraging the vast visual data available on the internet, their AI model will continuously improve its reliability.

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However, the journey to bring their idea to life hasn't been without its challenges. The young team shared that their biggest hurdle has been sourcing a sufficiently large and diverse dataset to accurately "train" their AI. Additionally, the technical infrastructure needed for the application to run stably and reach users remains a problem they are working to solve.

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To turn their AI-powered elderly care concept into reality, the group has been relentless in their pursuit of knowledge – from self-studying materials and joining tech forums to learn from experienced individuals, to experimenting with their first lines of code. During this journey, Phan Anh had the opportunity to access in-depth AI knowledge thanks to dedicated guidance from the team at TechTrain, a key factor that helped the group apply technology to their product in a more systematic and refined manner.

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Phan Anh shared, "The knowledge from TechTrain gave me a more realistic perspective on applying AI, from data analysis to product design. This was a crucial foundation for our group to gradually perfect our solution."

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With the enterprising spirit of youth and support from organizations like TechTrain, this group of friends is hopeful they can deliver a meaningful technological solution, contributing to the healthcare of Vietnam's elderly population.

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Translated from Cafebiz's article: https://cafebiz.vn/nhom-ban-cap-2-dung-ai-doc-vi-suc-khoe-nguoi-cao-tuoi-176250529161600952.chn