DOST: This smart pen for kids can help tell if they’re troubled

DOST: This smart pen for kids can help tell if they’re troubled

BEHIND THE LINES, DOTS, AND CURVES: Students write notes using the iSULAT pen, which helps detect potential disorders based on one’s handwriting, at the 2024 National Science and Technology Week held in Cagayan de Oro City in December. The technology was developed by researchers at the University of Santo Tomas with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). —Photo from the DOST

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino scientists have developed a smart pen that can analyze children’s handwriting and detect potential psychological conditions affecting their self-esteem or academic performance, according to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

The handwriting assessment tool dubbed “iSULAT,” short for “Intelligent Stroke Utilization, Learning, Assessment and Testing,” can spot potential health conditions hampering the full brain and motor development of a child, such as “developmental delays” and neurological disorders like autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and stroke, DOST said.

READ: Gen Z Filipinos have more mind health issues than global average

The two-year project, whose first phase concluded in October last year, was led by researchers from the University of Santo Tomas and funded by the DOST’s Philippine Council for Health Research and Development.

The invention was among the projects presented last month in the 2024 National Science and Technology Week in Cagayan de Oro City.

‘Lazy’ or ‘unenthusiastic’

According to the DOST, the iSULAT pen has a built-in “microcontroller” that transmits data to a mobile application. Its findings are then processed and analyzed by iSULAT before it can be sent to occupational therapists for proper diagnosis.

The department stressed that failure to reach proficiency in handwriting, which it deemed the “most immediate form of graphic communication,” may result in “far-reaching negative effects on both the academic success and self-esteem of a child.”

Engineer Jomel Herras, the project manager, said the team factored in the inaccessibility of traditional handwriting therapy in the country in coming up with the new diagnostic tool for students having difficulties in their handwriting or in writing legible letters or sentences.

“It basically addresses the lack of occupational therapists and the high cost of therapy,” Herras said in a statement.

His team’s invention addresses the “root cause” of a child’s problem with handwriting, he noted, adding: “They do it in their everyday lives. They write even in Math, Arts and English subjects.”

Herras cited instances when a kid may seem “lazy” or “unenthusiastic” in writing or in jotting down notes when he or she may already have underlying conditions.

The project’s pilot testing, which covered students from ages 6 to 10 in three schools: Juan Sumulong Elementary School in Pasay City; Villa Maria Elementary School in Porac, Pampanga province; and Bulacan Montessori School, Inc. in Bulakan town, Bulacan province.

Expanding the project

The children found to have handwriting issues underwent simultaneous assessment in batches, and the iSULAT studied the handwriting “based on letter alignment, spacing and consistency,” DOST said.

Herras is committed to expanding the project to benefit adults with ADHD and autism as well.

So far, it has already linked up with the Metro Manila division of the Department of Education for the conduct of more tests this year.

“Hopefully by 2026, we will be able to conduct the second phase where it could be applied not only to children, [but also adults],” he said.

A quantitative research study published in 2023, titled “The Effectiveness of Innovative Teaching Tool to Enhance Handwriting Skills of Grade 1 Pupils in Cateel Central Elementary School,” emphasized the importance of handwriting as an “essential skill” in learning and a “big contributor” in a student’s “failure, underachievement or loss of ambition for academic performance.”

The study found that certain teaching tools and interventions were effective in improving handwriting legibility and developing a “stronger foundation of literacy skills” in young elementary students in the Davao Oriental school.

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