Entrepreneurship for Healing

In the brilliant April days of the creative spirit, the 8th National Startup Festival for Students in 2026 became a convergence point for bold ideas and aspirations to contribute. Among hundreds of projects across the country, a group of students from Hanoi University of Science and Technology once again affirmed their pioneering position by excellently winning the Championship in the Healthcare - Health - Life category.

A Solution for the Rehabilitation Gap

The Ministry of Health notes that Vietnam is currently among the countries with a high stroke rate, with 222,000 cases each year. Half of these leave severe sequelae: hemiplegia, loss of mobility, and loss of self-care ability. For them, surviving the critical moment is only the first step of a longer journey. But what is worth mentioning is that the rehabilitation process, which requires continuous and accurate monitoring, often relies on manual assessment, lacking data and objectivity.

It was exactly in that gap that ReTrack was born.

The owner of the award is BioTrackers with the project ReTrack - A lower limb rehabilitation monitoring system for post-stroke patients. The team consists of 4 students from Hanoi University of Science and Technology: Phan Quoc Chien, Chu Dac Vinh Quang, Nguyen Nam Thanh, Dang Quynh Duong, and female student Bui Thi Khanh Linh from the National Economics University.

Team leader Phan Quoc Chien - a K68 student of the School of Mechanical Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, said that ReTrack is a name that both evokes the image of "tracking again" and carries the meaning of "getting back on track". This is a smart medical system integrating hardware and software, specifically designed for patients undergoing lower limb rehabilitation after a stroke.
  The product includes compact wearable devices attached to the patient's body, combined with monitoring software running on a computer, creating a complete ecosystem from data collection to analysis and reporting.

ReTrack's outstanding difference lies in combining movement data (IMU), muscle data (EMG), and cardiovascular data (ECG) into a single unified platform, something that currently lacks a domestic equivalent in Vietnam, especially at a cost of only about 1/5 compared to imported devices. In addition, the team applied the ESP-NOW protocol, which does not require a Wi-Fi router, and integrated AI for automatic evaluation according to the FMA scale, significantly reducing scoring time for medical staff while enhancing objectivity and the ability to personalize the rehabilitation regimen for each patient.

The heart of the system is the multi-sensor system: IMU for movement, EMG for muscle activity, and ECG for cardiovascular data, attached at strategic positions on the patient's lower limbs. During each rehabilitation session, these sensors silently record every movement of both the upper and lower limbs of the patient. Not missing a single moment. Not letting any error slip past the allowable threshold.

Data is transmitted to the computer via the ESP-NOW protocol, a wireless communication solution that does not require a Wi-Fi router, making it particularly suitable for hospital and rehabilitation room environments where wireless networks may be unstable. This is a smart technical choice, showing that the research team is not only good at theory but also understands practical implementation. Furthermore, with the cost being only 1/5 of imported devices, this product opens up opportunities for broader patient access in the future.

No more "intuitive" training sessions, no more assessments relying on subjective experience; ReTrack brings a completely new approach for patients by supporting data-driven rehabilitation.

The Seed of Future Smart Healthcare

Few people know that before shining at the National Startup Festival, ReTrack had "taken by storm" the 2025 Young Innovation Competition of Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Overcoming more than 110 projects, the BioTrackers team won the top spot, a testament to the product's practicality and technological depth. BioTrackers also won the highest position at the Venture X Demo Day 2025 Competition.
  In April 2026, at the 8th National Startup Festival for Students with the theme "Startups from schools - Accelerating innovation, reaching out with the country", ReTrack once again stood at the pinnacle, winning the Championship in the Healthcare - Health - Life category against hundreds of projects from all over the country. This is the second time in less than half a year that BioTrackers has affirmed ReTrack is a product ready to step out into the world.

Not stopping at an idea, ReTrack has been tested in laboratories and rehabilitation environments, showing high accuracy with errors within acceptable thresholds. This opens up great prospects for practical application in hospitals and even at home.

Representing the team, student Phan Quoc Chien affirmed: "BioTrackers is looking forward with many ambitious plans. After completing the prototype, ReTrack will be rolled out according to a 5-year roadmap to gradually commercialize, capture market share, and maintain sustainable growth."

Further ahead, the student group dreams of a day when this device is placed in the hands of every stroke patient across Vietnam. "Besides business plans, BioTrackers aims for 'healing' goals. I believe that every re-learned footstep deserves to be measured, recognized, and cherished," Quoc Chien emotionally shared.
  After "reaping the sweet fruits" from the major playing field, BioTrackers expressed their gratitude to the teachers of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, especially Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thanh Trung - Lecturer at the School of Mechanical Engineering, who accompanied, oriented, and gave them more motivation to nurture the idea and develop it into a highly humane solution.

The story of ReTrack and BioTrackers is also a typical cross-section of the entrepreneurial spirit spreading strongly in the student community of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, where all ideas are human-oriented. For Hanoi University of Science and Technology, starting up is not simply a movement to create products, but to create value, solve practical societal problems, and contribute to making life better.